Motion by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

October 31, 2000

MOTION BY SUPERVISOR ZEV YAROSLAVSKY

In the relatively short time since the World Wide Web was developed in 1990, it has rapidly evolved into one of the most powerful global communications networks ever developed. Every day brings new advances in e-commerce and e-government, and the advent of on-line Web-based services has added immeasurably to the nation's economic productivity and efficiency.

With this potential for improved service, however, there is a growing potential for abuse, ranging from misleading and deceptive advertising to conflicts of interest and intolerable invasions of privacy for unsuspecting individuals.

To address some of these concerns, on July 16, 1996, the Board of Supervisors unanimously directed County departments to suspend all third-party advertising associated with County-run Web sites, including the establishment of "hot links" to outside commercial sites, until a systematic review of the relevant issues was conducted and a uniform policy adopted by the Board of Supervisors.

At that time, the Board instructed the Chief Administrative Officer and the County Counsel to undertake such a review and return to the Board in 30 days with policy recommendations.

Such a policy review was never completed and returned to the Board. But the increasing reliance on Web-based operations through the intervening years has only underscored the urgency of developing and adopting such a policy without delay.

I, THEREFORE, MOVE THAT the Board of Supervisors direct:

the Chief Administrative Officer to apprise all Departments of existing Board policy suspending all Web-based County home page and hyperlink advertising activity, pending adoption of a uniform policy by the Board of Supervisors; and
that the Chief Administrative Officer, in conjunction with County Counsel, undertake a review and report back to the Board in 30 days with policy recommendations governing the use of advertising on County-run Websites and third-party hyperlinks to County-run Websites;
that the Chief Administrative Officer, in conjunction with County Counsel, undertake a separate review and report back in 30 days with recommendations to establish a County Internet "privacy" policy such as that enforced by many government and private Websites and promoted by TRUSTe, an independent, non-profit privacy organization whose stated mission "is to build users' trust and confidence on the Internet" by alerting Website users to the nature and dissemination of information gathered from them through use of a given site; and
that such reviews include the participation of the Chief Information Officer.