Safety and Security in the Digital Governance

A side effect that may impose in creating more accessible and affordable digital platform for smart cities is the threat of privacy and safety of individual data. Thus, city government should put in place practices that strengthen the safety of people, their data and identity. In addition, People should be informed and have awareness of data practices, including information about surveillance and the capacity to freely communicate online, privately, and anonymously. Some examples of measure that city could take to safeguard people’s interest are:

• Having strict data protection and privacy practices to collect, access, classify, analyse, share and use data
• Disaggregate data through a process that considers a solid purpose to the collection, storage, use and disclosure and which engages the community to build a respectful relationship
• Incorporate privacy by design at early stages of the data management plan
• Consider different contexts (cultural, geographic, socio-political, for example) and how it impacts the data available, including the possibility of it turning non-sensitive data into sensitive data

For further reference on how data sovereignty can be assessed and applied, the British Columbia Office for Human Right Commissioner provide a public report on data collection, Here

Reference:

UN Habitat’s Mainstreaming Human Rights in the Digital Transformation of Cities: A guide for local governments

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