Sign the pledge

Sign the pledge.

One commitment, one sentence. We publish your name, your city, and the date. Signing is not an endorsement, and no organization involved is endorsing you in return.

The pledge

I will not vote to approve, renew, expand, or otherwise allow any mass surveillance system in my city — including but not limited to: license plate readers, facial recognition, drone surveillance, predictive policing, and networked camera systems. And, I will work to end any mass surveillance systems already in place.

For purposes of this pledge, mass surveillance system means any technology that collects and/or aggregates information about residents who are not suspected of a crime. It includes free trials, pilot programs, donated equipment, systems paid for by grants or private foundations, and access to networks run by other agencies. The definition applies regardless of vendor.

For residents

Ask them yourself.

The pledge works because officials get asked in public and on a deadline. Here is the letter we send. Change the bracketed parts and send it from your own address — a note from a constituent lands harder than one from a group.

To a sitting council member

Subject: A yes-or-no question about surveillance in [City]

Council Member [Name],

I'm a resident of [City]. Along with other residents across the county, I'm asking every council member and candidate one question and publishing the answers.

Will you commit to voting against any mass surveillance system in [City] — license plate readers, facial recognition, networked cameras — for the rest of your term?

The full pledge is at [URL]. I'd welcome your signature. If your position is different, I'll publish your response in full and unedited alongside it.

I'm collecting responses through [date] and publishing on [date].

To a candidate

Same letter, with this opening instead: Voters in [City] will be choosing between candidates on this in November. I want to give you the chance to be on record early.