Smart City

In a smart city, data are collected through a network of sensors and cameras. These data are used to run the city and to make it more efficient, but also by private businesses that take advantage from the data to achieve their business targets.

Some examples of smart city applications are smart lamp posts that adjust their brightness in order to regulate flows of visitors; traffic systems with cameras that control traffic in order to prevent traffic jams; or cameras and sensors that guide visitors to parking spaces via an app. A more recent example is an app that records whether someone has been near a person who is infected with the coronavirus.

The advantages of these applications are obvious. They help bring a good quality of life and sustainability to the city. At the same time, the constant collection of data and the taking of decisions based on interpretations of those data may have negative effects as well. It may compromise people’s privacy or autonomy, or false decisions may be taken on the basis of false interpretations.

It is transparency, reliability, and compliance with our fundamental rights and principles that make or break the success of smart city applications. In order to be future-proof, new technological solutions or products must be able to stand an ethical and legal test.

Our smart city team, which consists both of experts in the areas of IT law, IP law and privacy and experts in the fields of administrative law/environmental law and European law, helps governments and businesses develop digital products in which this ethical/legal side is guaranteed.