The Harlow Report-GIS
2023 Edition
ISSN 0742-468X
Since 1978
On-line Since 2000
first published week of: 04/24/2023
“Smart City” Leaders Urged to Weigh Innovation Against Privacy Risks
by Lindsay McKenzie
A report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation urges city leaders to consider how citizen data is handled.
Smart city technologies have the potential to improve residents’ lives, but these benefits can only be reaped if public trust is maintained, says a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
The report, published by the nonprofit think tank on Monday, recommends that cities interested in “smart technologies” balance any potential benefits to society against privacy concerns. These include the collection of personally identifiable information that could be exposed in a cyberattack, sold to a third party or used in government surveillance efforts.
Though some “smart city” initiatives collect information relating to individual behavior, many instead focus on initiatives using sensor-laden trash cans or streetlights that don’t collect data on individuals and thus have a very limited privacy risk, said Ashley Johnson, senior policy analyst at ITIF and author of the report.
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