Councilmember Foster resolution seeks personal data safeguards  

The City Council voted 8-0 to approve a resolution sponsored by Councilmember Dionne Foster (Position 9) that reaffirms data and privacy protections for individuals who use City services, seeks to limit exposure to the federal government and other jurisdictions, and requests that City departments incorporate privacy standards in future contracts.

“This legislation is focused on ensuring we have the best practices and standards for protecting personally identifiable information,” said Councilmember Foster. “By conducting a thorough review, we can ensure that we are not requesting more information than is necessary from residents, and we can further mitigate against any risks. We have a responsibility to our residents to be proactive in analyzing our systems for any vulnerabilities either with the City or with our contractors.”

What the legislation does

Res 32194 affirms current City policy that City employees shall not require any person seeking or accessing City programs to disclose their immigration status. The legislation affirms the Council’s commitment to Seattle’s Privacy Principles, which aim to minimize personal data collection from residents to help prevent data from unintended secondary use. The resolution requests the Executive and departments to review current data collection practices to align with these principles, and to determine if the information is truly necessary for City purposes, and whether data is being shared with the federal government or other local, regional and state jurisdictions, including personal data, employment status, worksite locations, or other identifying information about any individual.

Councilmember Foster’s adopted resolution requests that the City and departments limit data sharing except as required by law, and when required, that the Council be informed in a timely manner of data requests by federal agencies. The bill also requests review of current and future contractor policies to ensure policy alignment.

What’s next

Legislation will be transmitted to the Mayor’s office for signature. Once the bill is signed, it will be effective 30 days after it is returned to the City Clerk.

Additional quotes

“We see the passage of this resolution as one of many steps needed to address data privacy. In just the past year alone, we’ve seen instances of state and local agencies sharing personal data with the federal government and putting vulnerable people, particularly immigrants, at risk for harm. It’s vital that our cities review and strengthen their policies to ensure this type of dangerous data sharing does not occur with the government and immigration services, and that the city collects as little data as necessary for public services. We all deserve to live in our communities freely and nobody should fear having their personal information shared when they try to access city programs and services.”

– Jazmyn Clark, Director, Smart Justice Policy Program at the American Civil Liberties Union

“This resolution shows how local governments can protect their people by safeguarding their data,” said Melissa Rubio, Deputy Director of OneAmerica. “We all deserve to live in safety without worrying about being targeted because of our immigration status. At a time when many of our neighbors are afraid, this resolution ensures that immigrants are fully included in our communities.”

– Melissa Rubio, Deputy Director, One America

“The City of Seattle regularly works with consultant contractors to deliver critical City services, and it is essential that these contractors partner with the City of Seattle to protect personal information, including immigration status. Through this resolution, we are pleased to reaffirm our efforts to ensure all Citywide contracts uphold City standards of data and privacy protection.”

– Kiersten Grove, Director, Seattle Department of Finance and Administrative Services

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