Panel proposes smart lampposts stripped of cams, Bluetooth

Cameras and Bluetooth detectors in smart lampposts should be substituted, a technical panel has recommended, to ease public privacy concerns.

About 20 smart lamposts were ripped up during protests in Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay in late August on fears they are being used to spy on people. Initially, 50 were installed in Kwun Tong and the Kai Tak Development Area.

The panel also “unanimously agreed'' in a report to the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, that the pilot project to install the smart lampposts continue, as they “are key digital infrastructure for promoting smart city development and facilitating 5G mobile network implementation in Hong Kong.''

The report by the Multi-functional Smart Lampposts Technical Advisory Ad Hoc Committee  was released today.

The panel also proposed a “rigorous, credible and transparent governance mechanism to review and approve any new smart lamppost application'' before installation; and “engage independent third-party professionals'' to carry out regular security and privacy review of technologies, functions, applications and devices of smart lampposts.