A TECHNICAL advisory committee on smart lampposts is suggesting that the cameras on these objects be replaced with heat sensors to address public concerns over privacy.

 　The Multi-functional Smart Lampposts Technical Advisory Ad Hoc Committee unanimously agreed that replacement technology solutions for cameras, such as Lidar and thermal detectors, should be adopted to elicit wider community support for smart lampposts as well as smart city development.

 　A three-year pilot scheme of smart lampposts sparked a protest on 24 August, with demonstrators fearing it was ‘a surveillance scheme to spy on citizens’,with some vandalising lampposts installed with panoramic cameras in Kwun Tong (觀塘).

 　The committee also proposed that every new device installed on a smart lamppost should go through a thirdparty review and assessment to ensure compliance with international privacy and security standards.

 　“To avoid lagging behind, Hong Kong must catch up at full steam in smart city development. We will also continue to open up city data collected by smart　lampposts to drive the development,” committee convenor Victor Lam Wai-kiu (林偉喬) said.

 　Under the pilot scheme, the government planned to install 400 smart lampposts in four districts – Central (中環) and Admiralty (金鐘), Causeway Bay (銅鑼灣) and Wan Chai (灣仔), Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) as well as Kwun Tong.

 　They were intended to promote smart city development and support 5G mobile network construction.

 (This article is published on Junior Standard on 18 December 2019)

 Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint

http:www.smartcity.gov.hk/

Singapore to test facial recognition

on lampposts, stoking privacy fears

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