TPRC 2024: The 52nd Research Conference on Communications, Information and Inter

Link to paper

Abstract:
This paper investigates a representative sample of smart city plans for the availability of data management policies. Review of smart city planning documents shows that few, if any, cities have well-articulated smart city plans. Using insights from agency theory as applied to contracting, we argue that data plans are designed to provide freedom to parties to utilize data in ways that may not adequately protect data sovereignty and digital rights. Current practices in smart cities for privacy, copyright, and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that are often guided by commercial interests and private ownership are inherently in conflict with citizens’ data access and privacy concerns.