Council Member Kelsea Bond, ACLU of Georgia Push for Community Input and Oversight of Police Surveillance

ATLANTA — On Monday, September 21, the ACLU of Georgia, Council member Kelsea Bond, and a coalition of partners will introduce the Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinance, giving Atlantans and council members more control in decisions about police surveillance technology.

In recent years, Atlanta's surveillance network has expanded greatly, with over 60,000 public and private cameras now connected to local law enforcement. The network uses automatic license plate readers and AI tools that collect, analyze, and share information about where people go and who they associate with. Yet community members and elected officials have little opportunity to understand how these technologies function, what information they collect, who can access the data, and how long it is kept.

Numerous advocacy partners have signed on to support the introduction and adoption of the ACLU of Georgia’s CCOPS ordinance. Read the sign-on letter here.

“Atlanta residents deserve a voice when government makes decisions about technology that can track where we go, who we associate with, and how we exercise our constitutional rights,” said Christopher Bruce, Deputy Executive Director, ACLU of Georgia. “CCOPS is not a direct ban on surveillance technology. It’s a process that ensures that we have the information needed to make informed decisions about these technologies before they are acquired and used. The demand for better safeguards is surging as people are becoming rapidly opposed to the use of cameras throughout the city.”

“I entered public service through organizing, where I learned that Atlantans are most effective when they unite to demand a voice in the decisions that shape their lives,” said Kelsea Bond, Atlanta City Council member, District 2. “When the city chooses to implement surveillance technologies, those decisions affect everyone who lives, works, organizes, worships, protests, or simply moves through Atlanta. CCOPS ensures that people are consulted before the city buys and uses new technologies. This is a fundamental principle of democratic accountability.”

“Transparency and community engagement are the bedrocks democracy. We know that new technologies are often tested on Black and Brown communities, and the impacts are far reaching,” said Devin Franklin, Senior Movement Policy Counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights. “Given that Atlanta is the most surveilled city in the country, transparency is the bare minimum needed to keep our neighbors safe.”

“Mass surveillance is a reproductive justice issue, and in a state with an abortion ban where pregnancy criminalization is a reality for so many, it is imperative that we interrupt the systems of information-sharing and surveillance that invade our privacy and criminalize everyday moments,” said Desirrae Thomas, Local Campaign Director at the Amplify Georgia Collaborative. “When personal information is collected and shared without care and accountability, it becomes a tool for surveillance and can and will be used against us, so we must have community involvement and transparency early in these processes.”

“American Muslims have faced decades of government surveillance simply because of our faith. We have learned the hard way that government surveillance seems harmless at first, but that it ultimately becomes a tool to target disfavored minorities and advance the police state,” said Megan Gordon, CAIR-Georgia Policy Director. “It is past time we had transparency on how surveillance technologies are being used, and we deserve a voice in whether we want this technology deployed in our neighborhoods.”

“We believe protecting families means protecting their fundamental rights. When driving to church or dropping off your kids makes everyday Georgians a data point for corporate profit, we haven’t built a safer state, we’ve commercialized human liberty. This is not what putting community first looks like,” said Berenice Rodriguez, We Are CASA State Director.

“Atlanta’s experience with the World Cup showed why transparency and community oversight cannot be an afterthought when the city expands its public-safety infrastructure,” said Michael Collins, Director of Play Fair ATL. “Surveillance technology has enormous power to track people’s movements and connect information across agencies, but the public currently has far too little say in how these systems are purchased and used. CCOPS establishes a basic democratic principle: before Atlanta adopts new surveillance technology, residents and their elected representatives should know what it does, what data it collects, who can access that information, and what safeguards are in place. That kind of accountability should be the standard in Atlanta.”

“The expansion of automated surveillance without public oversight has already severely threatened the trust of Atlanta's vibrant and diverse immigrant communities,” said Chany Chea, Program Director of the Asian American Advocacy Fund. “The lack of transparency on how their information is used directly puts them in harm's way, undermines their privacy, and increases the risk of biased enforcement. Our communities deserve a voice in this process and real safety built on accountability, transparency, and dignity.”

CCOPS would require city agencies to provide council members and the public with critical information before seeking approval for a contract or donation involving surveillance technology. This information would include what data the technology collects, how it can be used, who can access it, and how long it is stored. It creates a transparent process for Atlantans to consider any new technology before it becomes a part of the city’s infrastructure.

The urgency of oversight stems from the fact that surveillance data is increasingly shared between various agencies and jurisdictions. Atlanta Police Department accounts have been used to search thousands of Flock automatic license plate readers, using search terms connected with immigration enforcement. Moreover, surveillance networks can also be used to monitor people exercising their First Amendment rights or visiting sensitive places such as reproductive health centers and immigration clinics.

The widespread adoption of AI systems increases the risks by allowing governments to analyze large amounts of data and draw conclusions about people that may be incomplete or inaccurate.

Twenty-six cities across the country have already adopted CCOPS laws, including Boston, Detroit, Nashville, and St. Louis. These ordinances have strengthened oversight while allowing local governments to use technologies through a process that includes public input.

Read the ACLU of Georgia’s CCOPS ordinance.

WHAT
Introduction of the Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinance before the Atlanta City Council.

WHEN
Monday, Sept. 21, 2026
Atlanta City Council meeting, 1 – 5 p.m.

WHO
ACLU of Georgia and community partners.

If you want to find out more about Protect Our Privacy: Community Control Over Police Surveillance, go to acluga.org/popatl.