Next Generation E-Government: Reconciling the E-Participation and Data Protection Agendas

Abstract

The evolving model of the Future Internet has, at its heart, the users of the Internet. Web 2.0 and Government 2.0 initiatives help citizens communicate even better with their governments. Such initiatives have the potential to empower citizens by giving them a stronger voice in both the traditional sense and in the digital society. Pressure is mounting on governments to listen to the voice of the public expressed through these technologies and incorporate their needs into public policy. On the other hand, governments still have a duty to protect their citizens' personal information against unlawful and malicious intent. This responsibility is essential to any government in an age where there is an increasing burden on citizens to interact with governments via electronic means. This chapter examines this dual agenda of modern governments to engage with its citizens, on the one hand, to encourage transparency and open discussion, and to provide digitally offered public services that require the protection of citizens' private information, on the other. In this chapter, it is argued that a citizen-centric approach to online privacy protection that works in tandem with the open government agenda will provide a unified mode of interaction between citizens, businesses, and governments in digital society.