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Austiinites protest a proposed $2 million contract to install AI-powered security cameras in Austin parks outside Austin City Hall in Austin Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. The city of Austin delayed the vote and removed it from Thursday\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Austin City Council unanimously approved sweeping new restrictions<\/a> on surveillance technology<\/a> Thursday, responding to public backlash even as the city\u2019s police chief pushes to expand its use.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ordinance, dubbed the TRUST Act, will require city staff across all departments to publish \u00a0detailed reports at least four weeks before purchasing new surveillance tools that outline why the technology is needed, the risks it may pose to civil liberties and what steps will be taken to protect residents\u2019 privacy.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Lilly Ann Ortiz of Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry protests a proposed $2 million contract to install AI-powered security cameras in Austin parks outside Austin City Hall in Austin Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. The city of Austin delayed the vote and removed it from Thursday\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n The rules apply to technologies such as aerial drones equipped with cameras, automated license plate readers and fixed or mobile camera systems. City Council must approve their use before staff can enter into contracts with vendors.<\/p>\n Council Member Chito Vela, who introduced the measure alongside Council Member Mike Siegel, said the requirements are intended to give policymakers better information when considering surveillance tools.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to have good information,\u201d Vela said. \u201cWe can’t be guessing at things. We can’t be dealing with misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Austin City Council members Mike Siegel, left, and Chito Vela discuss a new city budget at City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. The Austin City Council is set to vote on a budget that includes millions of dollars in spending cuts after voters rejected Proposition Q in November, a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes and generated $110 million in new revenue.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Backlash against surveillance tools<\/p>\n Last summer, Council members urged City Manager T.C. Broadnax to withdraw a proposal for the Austin Police Department to use automated license plate reader cameras, citing concerns the data could be accessed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown.The contract later lapsed, and police stopped using cameras purchased from Flock Safety.<\/p>\n In February, Council members again pushed Broadnax to abandon plans for a five-year, $2 million contract for AI-powered security cameras in city parks. Siegel again questioned whether city departments could adequately safeguard data collected by the \u201cmobile security trailers.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Both episodes prompted Siegel and Vela to craft the TRUST Act, which requires “Privacy Impact Assessment” and “Surveillance Use Policy” reports to give both Council and the public clearer insight into how such tools would be used.<\/p>\n Before Thursday\u2019s vote, Vela said the assessments would detail what data is collected, who can access it and how long it is retained.<\/p>\n The ordinance also requires a review of all surveillance technology already in use. City departments will have 270 days to complete that review and certify their tools comply with the ordinance or discontinue them.<\/p>\n City leaders have said surveillance technology can play a role in public safety, particularly as the police department faces a staffing shortage of more than 300 officers. City staff said a two-year pilot of advanced surveillance cameras in parks was associated with a decline in crime where the technology was used.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A surveillance camera is seen in the median of West Cesar Chavez Street at Lavaca Street next to Austin City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Police chief: surveillance tech a ‘game changer’<\/p>\n Police Chief Lisa Davis told a crowd at the Headliners Club downtown Wednesday that she wants to increase her department\u2019s use of advanced surveillance tools.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a game changer for law enforcement,\u201d Davis told the audience.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She also said Wednesday the TRUST Act creates a framework to adopt broader use of surveillance technology that Council would support.<\/p>\n \u201cMy purpose is finding the money for it and then bring it to council to get that funding,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n But when that could happen remains unclear. In a written statement, Deputy Chief Communications Director Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said the staff does not currently plan to ask Council to authorize license plate readers or other new surveillance systems.<\/p>\n \u201cIf [licence plate reader] or other technology resources are considered in the future, they will be reviewed for alignment with the act before any contract is brought to Council,\u201d LaCoste-Caputo said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The ordinance includes exceptions for emergencies, allowing departments to deploy surveillance tools without prior Council approval if necessary to \u00a0prevent \u201cserious injury, loss of life, significant property damage, destruction of evidence in a criminal case or damage to the public welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n In those cases, city staff must submit a report within 60 days explaining the decision. .<\/p>\n The ordinance also requires an annual report detailing how surveillance technologies have been used over the prior year, how collected data has been handled and whether they are effective. An amendment from Council Member Marc Duchen adds a requirement to analyze whether the rules have limited the city\u2019s ability to protect the public.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Austiinites protest a proposed $2 million contract to install AI-powered security cameras in Austin parks outside Austin City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,8002],"class_list":{"0":"post-265602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news","11":"tag-policy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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