Sidewalk Labs is promising it won’t control data collected in the public spaces of a “smart city” proposed for Toronto’s waterfront — and says it wants to see a public trust created to take charge of such data.

Amid a growing controversy over data collection, control and privacy, Manhattan-based Sidewalk Labs Monday released its 41-page Digital Governance Proposals, a draft report it hopes will quell concerns pertaining to a proposed 12-acre technology-driven neighbourhood on a parcel of land in the Queens Quay and Parliament St. area called Quayside.

Stating that “no one has the right to own information” collected from Quayside and that it should be “freely and publicly available,” Sidewalk Labs, a sister company of Google, called for the formation of an “independent civic data trust” to control the data indefinitely.

It’s not immediately clear who would sit on the governance body, or who would be responsible for pulling it together.

Other questions include: who would be responsible for enforcement, whether the trust will be a repository for data, and how the trust will be funded.

Critics have sounded alarm bells that so-called urban data — information collected about people in areas such as lobbies, streets, plazas, parks and open spaces near Sidewalk Labs’ mostly residential development — should be in the hands of government, rather than a large, profit-driven U.S. company.

Sidewalk Labs is already planning to use data collection in the U.S. to track things such as traffic patterns but is anonymizing the data to protect privacy.

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Concerns have been raised that the collection of data at the Toronto development will amount to “mass surveillance” without proper safeguards in place and critics have charged that Sidewalk Labs will benefit from monetizing the data, while Torontonians who live in or pass through the development will lose their privacy.

In the draft report, Sidewalk says the monetization of data will not be part of its business model, adding it has committed not to sell personal information or use it for advertising.

Sidewalk says it is developing and will utilize “cutting edge privacy-enhancing technologies” at Quayside. If personal information is required, Sidewalk says it destroys the data as close to the source as possible.

Among its guidelines on data use, Sidewalk says if a person opts into a service that uses individual identification, the person must provide meaningful consent or control over how the information is used.

Earlier this month, tech expert Saadia Muzaffar, a member of the digital strategy advisory panel to Waterfront Toronto, which is partnering with Sidewalk Labs on the project, resigned citing concerns about the lack of safeguards in place to protect the “data and digital infrastructure” pertaining to the project.

But in its statement Monday, Sidewalk Labs said when it comes to “de-identified urban data” from Quayside, there wouldn’t be ownership of the data itself, or monetary value attached to it — everyone would have equal access.

“But value could be created when people or companies use urban data to improve city life with, say, a new navigation app, a smarter traffic light, an energy saver tool, or other digital services,” Sidewalk says.

Micah Lasher, head of policy and communications at Sidewalk, says any innovators, small or large start-ups interested in finding innovative or creative things to do with the data “will do so on an equal footing with everyone else” under the plan Sidewalk envisions.

The draft report says that “the lion’s share of technologies” that will make Quayside unique will be “developed and deployed by an ecosystem of many innovators,” and that all systems using or collecting urban data, whether created by Sidewalk or third parties, will be subject to governance by the data trust.

Sidewalk Labs said in order to protect privacy, any group or business entity proposing to collect or use urban data, including Sidewalk Labs itself, would first have to file a “responsible data impact assessment” with the trust.

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During this assessment process the data trust would evaluate the reason for the data collection, the parties involved, the impact and risks the data collection and whether innovation will be spurred.

A risk assessment and application to the data trust would be mandatory in cases where devices — such as thermostats, home security cameras or sensors — are installed by a landlord or builder, but those parties could “self-certify” if they follow guidelines and provide an opt-out for residents, Sidewalk’s report says.

One hypothetical offered in the report has the data trust reviewing an application by a start-up for air quality sensors. The trust judges the sensors would provide a net benefit to the public and approves them on the condition that proceeds from the sale of data used for the sensors be shared between the start-up, the city and the data trust.

The trust would become the “steward of urban data collected in the physical environment,” Sidewalk Labs said.

Such trusts exist in other cities such as Barcelona, Spain, where data is pooled into a central repository and managed by a trusted intermediary.

“Existing laws on urban data do not address ownership. And urban data is only regulated when it contains personally identifiable information. Even then, these rules are often not followed in the public realm. We seek to build on them,” Sidewalk Labs said, explaining the rationale for the steps it is taking.

The company also pledged to use “open standards” for any digital infrastructure and services it provides — so anyone can plug in or compete.

Sidewalk’s draft proposals will be presented to Thursday’s meeting of the digital strategy advisory panel, and that will mark only the beginning of the process that will include public input, Lasher said.

Bianca Wylie, co-founder of Tech Reset Canada, a group of technology experts and business people advocating for innovation for the public good, called the proposals a “desperate, panicked, and rushed” move. “It’s not a process for a vendor (Sidewalk Labs) to be leading and framing. Full stop.”

In a statement, Waterfront Toronto said: “the digital strategy advisory panel was created to provide Waterfront Toronto with expert advice on a range of digital governance matters, including data privacy, digital systems, and the safe and ethical use of new technologies, and we look forward to their assessment of Sidewalk’s proposal.”

Waterfront Toronto said that in the coming months there will be significant input including through community consultation, negotiation and Waterfront Toronto’s own evaluation through the development of the master plan for Quayside.

Sidewalk Labs says none of the ideas presented Monday are “fixed or final.”

“They are, however, consistent with our long-standing goal of setting a new standard for responsible data use that protects personal privacy and the public interest while enabling companies, researchers, innovators, governments and civic organizations to improve urban life using urban data,” the company added.

Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto are working on a master plan for the Quayside project, expected sometime early next year.