Committee rejects amendment to broaden New Bedford ordinance to cover all surveillance technology (10–1)

Councillor James Roy offered a broad amendment that would define “surveillance technology” to include any device or software capable of collecting audio, visual, location, biometric or other identifying data, explicitly listing facial recognition, drones, cell-site simulators and social-media monitoring. Roy argued the amendment was necessary because those technologies can collect "extraordinarily sensitive information" and should be subject to the same public-notice, privacy-impact, audit and reporting rules as ALPRs.

Several councillors challenged the timing and scope; some said the language deserved more review and that the committee had only received the amendment shortly before the meeting. The amendment failed on a roll-call vote, 10–1. Chair Burgo and other supporters said the committee can revisit broader coverage in future amendments but that the immediate ordinance before the committee remains focused on municipal ALPRs and mass location-tracking technologies.