Digital Government, rights and responsibilities

It is a terrible irony if, as the Government squabbled with itself over the contents of its mishandled Communications Data Bill, some of its most contentious provisions were already in effect via the back door as Shami Chakrabati puts it.

William Hague has bowed to Labour pressure to come to Parliament on Monday and we must hope he will make the facts clear to MPs.  The Prime Minister and other Ministers should support the ISC in investigating the media reports and reporting on the UK’s involvement with the Prism programme.

But the revelations demonstrate the dangers of a debate which has been highly polarised but narrowly limited to a small number of measures, without an overarching vision or wider discussion of the relationship between the Government, data and the people.

As part of my brief for open and digital Government, as well as Cyber Security, I have been thinking about what One Nation Britain might expect, and deserve, when it comes to technology and Government.

My background as an electrical engineer makes me a natural enthusiast for the opportunities technology brings. But in my last job, as Head of Telecoms Technology for Ofcom, the Communications Regulator, I also saw many of the dangers, from digital exclusion to excessive surveillance and attacks on privacy.

The internet should lead to flatter, more direct relationships which enable individuals to redress the balance of power with Governments and big companies.

But under this Government it is becoming an instrument of division as millions are being left out. All the more so because a new phenomenon whose implications we are only just beginning to see, and which appears to have had a major role playing in the current scandal. Big Data.

Big data crosses all sectors of the economy and society. Each of us has a digital footprint, whether we are online or not. Cheap storage and intelligent analytics mean that it is becoming easier for third parties to use that footprint to draw conclusions about who we are, what interests us, what we want to buy, what services we need… what our political views may be. The cliche information is power takes on a whole new meaning.

We need to make sure that power is shared. Because there are still some 16 million people in the UK who lack basic online skills [Source: Martha Lane Fox Universal Digitisation report, November 2012]. Of the 11 million people in the UK who do not use the internet four million are the most socially and economically disadvantaged in the country. 70% of people who live in social housing and a third of those with disabilities are not online. 38% of people not online are also unemployed.

And yet 80% of Government interactions with the public are with the bottom 25%.

We need shared values in the virtual world if Digital Government is to empower the many not just the few and offer both protection and privacy. In speaking to individuals and organisations concerned with digital engagement and democracy, I’ve identified five key principles on which this could be based:

1 We will equip you to operate safely and securely in cyber society

In the 19th Century we recognised the duty of the state to promote certain outcomes in the real world such as health and education. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, describes the Internet as the world’s largest ungoverned space. I believe we have a duty to promote digital literacy and security, a duty this Government is manifestly failing.

2 Your data is your own – you should be able to have access to it across the private and public sectors

Over the last twenty years we have seen some progress in recognising people’s ownership of their own data but much more needs to be done. One social enterprise leading the way is ‘patients knows best’ which empowers patients to take control over managing their own healthcare by giving access to their medical records. Equally, intelligent analysis of electricity usage can help companies take on the Big Energy companies and reduce their bills. And there are many other potential areas where service users can use their own data to help define and improve their service in both the public and private sectors.

3 Government will use your data transparently and securely for the public good and for your good

The Communications Data débâcle shows just how much some groups mistrust Government access to individual data. But the Government is championing giving the private sector easy access to public sector data on the assumption that new services and applications will spontaneously blossom for the benefit of all. So far very few have. We need a more proactive approach.

4 You will have a stake in how your data is used even when you are no longer associated with it

When it comes to public data simply by taking your name off the record doesn’t mean that the you should lose your stake in it. It’s value you created. And is it really right that phone companies should be able to take your phone bill, tippex your name and address off it and then sell it?

5 We will empower you to stand on the shoulders of Big Data and hold them and us to account.

Only then will the transformative power of digital democracy really be realised.

It is 800 years since the Magna Carta designed to protect wealthy barons from their King. High time we set out the principles of a more digital and democratic age.