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Dr. Frank Bannister, senior lecturer in Information Systems in Trinity College, Dublin, told ElectricNews.Net that the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) by the state has increased the chances of people's privacy being abused.
"There has always been a risk that the state and public officials will use private information against its citizens. However, ICT has exacerbated the situation and widened the scope for abuse," he commented.
Bannister said ICT made this possible because it enabled the state or governments to do things that up to now had been impractical such as store large amounts of personal data and monitor e-mails. "ICT also allows government to reach into aspects of citizens' lives in ways that would have been difficult, if not inconceivable, in the past. This includes bringing information together in new ways, for example, the ability to combine tax and social welfare records," he remarked.
As well as the abuse of information, Bannister warned that e-government could lead to further social inequity. "This is a possibility as long as information is only accessible to certain sections of society that are educated or have money," he said.
Although Bannister noted that it is possible for Irish citizens to access the information about themselves held by state bodies due to the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act, he said that the state should be obliged to ensure that information will always be available in non-electronics forms.
Bannister said that these potential problems could be prevented from occurring by the establishment of a charter of e-government ethics and values, which would set guidelines for civil servants and state bodies on how they should behave when using or implementing ICT.
In a paper presented by Bannister, along with Dr Stephen Lalor of the Department of the Taoiseach, at the recent European Conference on E-Government in Dublin, the pair said that the charter should be set out to clarify specific citizen and public rights and entitlements in an ICT/e-government context. It should also set out rights to privacy and commit to tackle social exclusion and inequity that could be caused by ICT.
They added that the charter should include statutory codes of ethics for e-government workers at all grades, as well as e-government bodies.
Bannister and Lalor concluded that the Irish civil service has rarely acted in a malign manner, but it could not be assumed that this would always be the case, particularly with the increased use of ICT.
"There have already been many benefits of e-government and there are numerous improvements in the lives of citizens which have yet to flow from the application of new developments in information and communications technologies by the state. There are also risks and costs which go beyond the merely financial....Given the risks, there is a need for a clear ethical framework for e-government," wrote Bannister and Lalor.
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