NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A controversial community surveillance network is once again up for discussion by Metro Council Tuesday evening.
The program was narrowly voted down in December. Fusus, a surveillance program that would have allowed police to access business surveillance cameras with the owner’s permission, failed by just one vote.
During the December meeting, some Metro council members expressed concern over privacy issues.
“This bill is one more step on a very, very slippery slope,” one councilwoman told News 2 on Dec. 3.
“I am truly scared and I have had so many of the trans community reach out to me begging me to vote no on this,” said another councilwoman.
Since its previous discussion, the Fusus proposal has apparently changed.
“It does have a little bit more guidelines on it, while at the same time not losing any of the enforcement aspects of it,” explained Jordan Huffman, Metro Councilmember for District 14. “For example, you can’t turn over the camera feed to us [Metro]. You can’t use it to track down illegal immigrants.”
“There is a component that Fusus has that allows for more of a residential component; that is not in play here,” Huffman added. “Once again, this is a voluntary process. And council is interjecting itself, saying ‘You can’t do that.’ That is wrong. That is not our role. Our role is to protect the citizens of Nashville and there’s no better way that we can do that right now than letting businesses do what they want with their video feeds.”
Huffman has supported Fusus since the start. This new proposal is sponsored by 12 council members, a few of whom originally voted against the program, including District 20 Councilmember Rollin Horton.
Previously, Horton wouldn’t commit to voting on any Fusus contract, but he believes this new proposal has more guidelines than before.
In a statement to News 2, Councilman Horton wrote, in part:
There were no safeguards in place for the first Fusus contract. Safeguards matter. Surveillance is a powerful tool. With great power comes great risk and great responsibility. If our city is to invest in this technology, we need to ensure it’s used the way (and only in the way) we intend, and that there are consequences for misuse. Without safeguards, there is no guarantee on either of those fronts.
We do not know what the next contract will look like. I cannot commit to voting for or against any contract until I see it.
However, I will be able to consider the contract if these guardrails are enacted. Before, I could not consider any contract because there were no guardrails.”
Councilman Horton
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Above all, Huffman said public safety must remain at the forefront for council, and he believes Fusus helps with that.
“I have yet to locate a business owner that is not in favor of this. [We] really got to be careful, as we move forward, to put public safety first, as this is the number one issue in Nashville. You can’t convince me otherwise,” Huffman told News 2.
Metro Council is expected to discuss more about the Fusus program at Tuesday evening’s council meeting.
