Google’s sister company Sidewalk Labs is working on a new development in the city in partnership with Waterfront Toronto that will be embedded with sensors to collect data from its inhabitants and visitors.

In a response to concerns, Sidewalk Labs has created a system of “urban signage” to make it clearer to passers-by how and why their data is being collected and used in the public realm.

The signs are meant to act as a visual representation of the privacy policies the company is developing to go along with its data collection technology.

The hexagon-shaped signs disclose the invisible technology that Sidewalk Labs is proposing to use in a development in Toronto called Quayside. One hexagon conveys the purpose of the technology, another displays the logo of the entity responsible for the technology, and a third displays a QR code that takes the user to more information.

The final piece of information Sidewalk wanted to convey involves privacy, where identifying information is collected. This particular sign would not be displayed if the data being collected was unidentifiable.
Speaking to Fast Company, Jacqueline Lu, associate director for the public realm at Sidewalk Labs, comments:

“While this project does not address all the issues of consent around data collection, we believe it is a meaningful step forward. The project aims to address the issue of meaningful notice and transparency, and aims to give agency to people and create awareness around the kinds of technology in the public realm.”

However, these visual signs are not enough for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which is suing Waterfront Toronto and all three levels of the Canadian Government, claiming that the legal agreements drawn up between the publicly-funded Waterfront Toronto and Google’s sister company violate the personal and collective privacy rights of Canadian citizens.

An external view of Quayside. Photo: Sidewalk Labs

“The Google-Waterfront Toronto deal is invalid and needs to be reset,” says Michael Bryant, executive director and general counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA). “These agreements are contrary to administrative and constitutional law and set a terrible precedent for the rest of this country.

"Unlawful surveillance is wrong whether done by data profiteers or the state. We all deserve better from our federal, provincial and municipal governments.”

The association believes that the project ought to be reset and no new requests for proposals should be submitted until all levels of government establish “digital data governance policies for the appropriate collection, ownership, use and residency of personal information and other data obtained from public places in any embedded sensor laden, data harvesting Smart City contemplated for Quayside.”

Sidewalk Labs won the right to develop a Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) for the Quayside project through a request for proposal in October 2017.

Waterfront Toronto writes in a statement (since deleted): "At this point Waterfront Toronto has not received a plan from Sidewalk Labs, its innovation and funding partner for Quayside. Therefore, none of the claims in the in the CCLA Application can be assessed yet.”

Bryant adds: “Canada is not Google’s lab rat. We can do better. Our freedom from unlawful public surveillance is worth fighting for.”

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