Seattle City Council Rejects Amendment To Prevent Corporations From Spying On You

Council Members Cathy Moore, Maritza Rivera, Sara Nelson, Bob Kettle, Mark Solomon voted no on amendment to quell concerns over surveillance.

On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council took its first step in ceding public walkways downtown to corporate interests by granting “conceptual approval” for the Downtown Seattle Association’s plan to erect and profit off 30 interactive digital kiosks, glorified, 8 foot tall iPhones designed to bombarded passersby with advertisements in Seattle’s Metropolitan Improvement District. 

The council still has to hash out the details in an ordinance, running up against the clock of the 2026 FIFA World Cup — can’t let a global spectacle pass without maximizing ad revenue. 

But in Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council made one thing abundantly clear: They’re not worried about private companies spying on their residents. In a 5-4 vote, the council rejected an amendment to prohibit the kiosks’ use of camera technology to quell concern of surveillance. 

Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the kiosks’ camera technology. The company running the kiosks, IKE Smart City, claims the cameras won't capture or retain photos as surveillance — it's just a quirky little selfie camera operated by a corporation who could change their privacy policy at any time. Jeez! It’s not like we live under the rule of a literal fascist hellbent on tracking down immigrants or that out-of-state cops want to spy on their residents fleeing to Seattle for abortion and gender affirming care.

In response to these concerns, Council Member Dan Strauss, who has become quite the thorn in the side of conservative ring-leader Council President Sara Nelson, proposed an amendment to prohibit the deployment of camera technology on the digital kiosks. To him, his amendment was a “common sense measure” to calm the most common concerns he’s heard about the kiosks.

Strauss said he’s received “good confirmation” the IKE Smart City will not “intentionally” use the kiosks as surveillance and that City does not intend to use them that way either. But Strauss argued that the company or the City could one day change course or a “nefarious actor could hack into the system,” a particularly compelling concern under the Trump administration. 

“Ultimately, it's a choice between being proactive or leaving [the cameras] in place so that some people can take some selfies,” Strauss said in the Tuesday meeting. “To me, this is a simple choice.”

Nelson, who probably couldn’t swallow her pride to agree with Strauss on what day of the week it is, spoke against his amendment. She reiterated that the faceless, unfeeling corporation pinky promised it won’t spy on Seattle. But Nelson blatantly prioritized the wishes of a business over her constituent’s fears that a profit-motivated entity would quietly change their privacy policy to turn a quick buck.

“The cameras located on the kiosk are only for the purpose of taking selfies,” Nelson said. “This may seem like a, you know, a trivial or a silly feature, but in fact it's actually, according to the vendors and — and people that have informed DSA on how they're used in other cities, this is actually one of the most popular uses for these kiosks in places that they've been installed around the country.”

Ultimately, Council Members Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Joy Hollingsworth, and Rob Saka joined Strauss in voting to prohibit the use of cameras. Council Members Cathy Moore, Maritza Rivera, Mark Solomon, Bob Kettle, and Nelson voted no. 

The council could still cut the cameras in the upcoming ordinance if constituents put the pressure on them to do so. Don’t count it out! They’re known to cave.