The concept of smart cities is inherently tied to mass surveillance. The benefits derived from smart city technology are dependent on constant data flows captured and aggregated by sensors, cameras and tracking applications. In contrast, critics state that information sharing in smart cities has shifted from horizontal information flows between citizens to a vertical, unilateral process between citizen and government, reflecting concerns about panopticism. while Mobypark allows for the advertisement and renting of available parking spaces. The information collected across these and over 70 other projects in Amsterdam is stored by the City of Amsterdam via a common IP infrastructure. Considering that data from these services is accessible by a primary governmental body, it allows for the possibility of data which is collected from these ‘distinct’ sources to be aggregated.
Big data analysis Big data often refers to the use of data analysis and mapping algorithms generate valuable insights from seemingly disparate datasets. The implications of applying such analysis to aggregated data sets are that they allow for a more holistic view of the needs of a particular community to be formed. Within smart cities, this data can be used as a reflexive tool when implemented within the urban ICT framework allowing the Government to better meet the goals of smart cities – improved livability, efficiency and sustainability. that allow for central control, buses in Barcelona now run to a schedule that attempts to minimize the amount of time spent waiting at traffic lights. Big data analysis is not without flaws in its approach This is particularly true when applied to law enforcement, or where data is collected without the willing cooperation and consent of parties involved. Critics argue that there is an element of "mythology" surrounding big data that larger data sets offer deeper insights into urban issues with higher levels of accuracy and objectivity. In the absence of critical insight however, reliance on data alone has little support, as seen in the legal doctrine of reasonable suspicion. Critics of the increasing role played by data-based surveillance for the purposes of law enforcement foresee that such reliance could lead to issues in prosecuting individuals based on a probability-based crime system. Adding to the potential for discrimination, many big data algorithms often create new categories that exceed the scope of regulations designed to prevent against the unfair or discriminatory use of data. While e-governance can improve service delivery and expand the ability to collect data from a single platform, while similar cards have been implemented in Southampton Despite this, such tactics would only minimize and not eliminate their collectable data. particularly when collated from multiple information sources. The storage of data by governments remains opaque, while the potential for cross-sharing data across government services often means that data is accessible by parties with whom the provider did not intend to share the data. where a discussion paper published by the Australian Law Reform Commission confirmed that anonymised data may still be PII. and the European Union (see:
Data Protection Directive). In Europe, government technology that interferes with privacy must be based on a "pressing social need" or otherwise "
necessary in a democratic society" and be proportional to the legitimate aims espoused. This means that authorities implementing smart cities regimes are at risk of violating privacy laws if appropriate safeguards are not taken. The European Court of Human Rights has held that surveillance mechanisms (including those implemented in smart cities technologies) can violate the right to privacy, especially where domestic legislation does not define the scope or manner of surveillance. Conversely, individuals may find that their data has been used illegally in the implementation of smart cities technology. As much smart city technology is based on open platforms that are often outsourced where a Digital Security metric was incorporated alongside traditional measures of safety such as Personal Security and Health.
Panopticism ,
section and
plan of Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon penitentiary, drawn by
Willey Reveley, 1791 The English philosopher
Jeremy Bentham created a circular prison design, known as the
Panopticon, whereby prisoners knew that they were capable of being observed at any time without their knowledge – thus affording the prison officers a position of omnipresence. The French philosopher
Michel Foucault re-conceptualized the notion of a panopticon as a metaphor for a ‘disciplinary society’, wherein power relations (and imbalances) can be defined and reinforced. In such a society, power is seen to approach its ideal form by increasing the number of people who can be controlled. One of the major issues with Panopticism in the Smart Cities context is that the 'surveillance gaze' is mediated by the selective biases of the operators of any application or technology, as was shown by a study on the use of CCTV cameras in the UK, where the "usual suspects" tended to be targeted more frequently. Compounding these issues, digitally based panopticism usually views the "visibility" of undesirable characteristics as the problem, and often fails to adequately address matters that are invisible to the surveillance gaze.
Police state If a shift toward mass surveillance came to fruition, it could give rise to the development of an
electronic police state as a result of the increased surveillance capabilities and law enforcement activities. This represents a distinct narrowing of the purpose of surveillance to that of maintaining social order via improved law enforcement. Van Brakel argues that these changes have already taken place, and that the focus of police has gradually moved towards "front-loading" their intelligence systems with relevant knowledge that can be later sorted and used,. Supporting this institutionalised shift, the House of Lords in the UK argued in 2009 that an advantage of surveillance activities is the ability for the government to provide a more tailored approach to governance, and by extension, law enforcement. == Solutions ==