ITA manu:scripts, pp. , 2007/05/02
The way the public sector handles data and knowledge is of vital importance for modern administration and (e)Democracy – especially since eGovernment involves data collection, processing and transmission, the exchange of information and even sensitive political convictions especially with eParticipation and eVoting. Nowadays networked digital registers and joint information systems are set up in all public institutions and make great demands on data protection. While there are complex regulations in Austria like Sector-specific Personal Identifiers, the challenge lies in making them reconcilable with customer friendly one-stop government and inter-authority assistance. It is imperative to embody continuous privacy monitoring by independent control entities, effective legal protection and process traceability. Technically speaking eGovernment enables each individual to access his or her own data – the state has to provide a regulatory framework, so citizens can exercise their informational right of self-determination regarding the use of their private data. Freedom of information which is guaranteed by the constitutional law, potentially promotes trust, consequently civil society and citizens’ participation. The legal obligation to supply online information at an early stage – as presently just determined in isolated cases, mainly regarding environmental protection and regional planning – strengthens checks and balances in both the executive and legislative powers, discursive opinion-forming and decision-making, as a result the legitimacy and in the long run the acceptance of decisions. This vision of a forward-looking activating eState requires the interaction of law, technology and creation of awareness for citizens and ‘public servants’. At present, innovative eGovernment projects would be an excellent opportunity to adjust new ICT systems to a modern information law that combines privacy and transparency.
Keywords: E-government privacy freedom of information public registers sector-specific personal identifier