Mayor LaToya Cantrell has requested that small business owners
keep a log of their customers, and people are not happy. The request did not
specify how the data was to be collected, and it appears that businesses are on
their own to figure out how to make that happen. This triggered a small number
of citizens in New Orleans to start a petition, which now boasts 750
signatures, to protest the mayor's request. That many people have signed in a
matter of only two days.
The idea is that by keeping track of every person who enters a
business and where they live, this will help keep tabs on who has contracted the
virus and whom they have been in contact with, thus better tracing the disease's
spread. But it's a concept that is invasive and violates privacy rights, and
therefore, has not gone over well with businesses.
Erick Sanchez,
who lives Uptown, said, "This is the latest in a string of leadership shortcomings
from LaToya Cantrell. As residents, we're uniting to say that we've had enough.
LaToya should work for her constituents, not the other way around."
A public relations specialist, Sanchez has a background in PR and
an undergraduate degree from George Mason University. His work has brought him
to New Orleans, where he now works as principle at Quixotic LLC. As the creator
of the petition, Sanchez said, "It's clear by the show of support on this
petition that Mayor Cantrell's announcement has offered new panic in a city
that already joins many others around the country in sharing the anxiety of
living in this pandemic reality."
The page of the petition itself expressed concerns regarding the
logistical planning of the data collection. The petition further argued that
many small businesses would lose customers if they were to willingly put these
people's personal data in the government's hands.
However, the question must be asked under what circumstances the
request is being made by Cantrell and, remember, that it is just a request.
