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by amlozano 752 days ago
If I recall correctly the ordinance only barred the city's police from "acquiring or using" the software without approval and reports to a committee. Merely asking someone else to use it on their behalf is probably ok (per the ordinance). Its kind of hard to actually ban any particular technology, if it is useful, people will find a way to use it.
2 comments

Ordinance version 3 starts "Ordinance amending the Administrative Code to require that City departments acquiring surveillance technology, or entering into agreements to receive information from non-City owned surveillance technology". But after that it's 21 pages and I don't know if that's the version that was adopted.

then

"(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter 19B, it shall be unlawful for any Department to obtain, retain, access, or use: 1) any Face Recognition Technology; or 2) any information obtained from Face Recognition Technology. A Department’s inadvertent or unintentional receipt, retention access to, or use of any information obtained from Face Recognition Technology shall not be a violation of this subsection (b), provided that: (1) The Department does not request or solicit its receipt, access to, or use of such information; and"

So asking the neighbors to use theirs does seem barred. (But then again it's 21 pages.)

Note that the section you quoted was unanimously amended to only apply to SF city-owned devices (https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/o0286-19.pdf). To see the current version of the surveillance ordinance see Admin Code 19B.2 (https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/s...)
Thought experiment: if murder is illegal, what is it called when you ask someone to murder on your behalf?

“Probably ok” does not spring to mind.