The State of Indiana is now allowing electronic meetings to continue once the emergency orders stop. The law says
A member who participates by an electronic means of communication: (i) shall be considered present for purposes of establishing a quorum; and (ii) may participate in final action only if the member can be seen and heard.
Can I configure jitsi so that when the board and council members join, their camera and audio are on? Can it be made so they can’t turn off the camera?
I currently do not use jitsi but I am looking at it to replace our current solution.
How would it be a privacy violation? Isn’t there a banner that would pop up when you are joining the meeting that your camera and microphone will be automatically turned on? Our users would also know this before the meeting as we are following state law.
Yes they could do that. They could point the camera at a blank wall. They could put a piece of electrical tape over the camera too. I have to demonstrate that I am trying to follow the law. By starting with the camera and mic on they can’t say oops I forgot to turn them on. If the board or council member violates the law their vote doesn’t count.
It would seem to me that the person in the meeting is responsible for upholding that part of the law, not the platform but I would get legal council on it. Many cities currently use Zoom for this purpose and if they want their vote counted they are responsible for turning on the camera and mic, same as they are responsible for getting to the House of Representatives to vote if they want their vote counted prior to these expansions to allow virtual meetings.