Citywide CIO Jessica Tisch said the pandemic forced her agency to rush new services online, while also supporting a pivot to remote work for thousands of staff.

New requirements for surveillance tools and body-camera footage in NYC, new digital tools for COVID-19 response in Virginia and a marriage of ransomware and unemployment fraud represent some of the highlights from this week's top government IT news.

The City Council passed a bill requiring the NYPD to provide the public with explanations of all surveillance technologies it uses to snoop on New Yorkers.

Footage from all incidents in which an officer uses deadly or serious force will be made available to the public, the mayor's office said.

The city's chief technology officer said the program will help connect some of the New Yorkers most threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city is asking internet carriers and other groups for ideas on how to bring broadband service to the 46 percent households in poverty that lack access.

Gary Hoberman, CEO of app-design firm Unqork, said New York officials built their portal using visual "Lego blocks," and that other cities may launch similar sites as the pandemic continues.

The city is trying get a better picture of potential coronavirus exposure. "This will all depend on our New Yorkers signing up," CIO Jessica Tisch said.

There are a few ways real-time data could be used to assist policymaking and emergency response, says a former Seattle city official.