“Who is the owner of collected data?” and “what about the privacy of people who can be seen on camera’s”? – Smart City projects pose new questions emerging from the use of technology in our cities. In our research project, our partners Marxman Advocaten help us to answer them. Below you may find their viewpoint of the research project.

It is getting busier and busier in our cities. Where in the past traditional solutions were used (e.g. creation of new parking spaces), nowadays there is often literally no room for them anymore. A city, therefore, needs to come up with smarter solutions. Think of shared parking spaces or the smart handling of visitor flows using smart cameras. A ‘city’ therefore becomes a ‘Smart City’ at a fast pace.

These projects often get off to a flying start. Marxman Advocaten, a law firm with its main office in Amersfoort, often experiences that attention is paid to legislation and regulations at a late stage. Challenges are then often greater than initially thought. Just think of the (often complicated) rules in the field of privacy law. As a result, Smart City-projects are delayed or even forced to come to a standstill.

Research partner Marxman Advocaten has been advising on Smart City-projects for several years now. From 2016, the firm holds the European “Smart Cities Law Firm” certificate. The activities of Marxman Advocaten in a Smart City-project differs. Organizations often ask for support at the start of the project, so that they will not be faced with legal surprises later on. Advice is also given on more concrete questions. Think of questions such as: “Who is the owner of collected data?” and “What about the privacy of people who can be seen on camera’s”?

The role of Marxman Advocaten in the research project consists first of informing the research team about the most important laws and regulations. The aim is to increase knowledge and awareness and to explain the intentions of the legislator. The research team is also given concrete advice on projects to be carried out.

Together with the research team and the project partners, Marxman Advocaten is happy to come up with recommendations that will ensure acceptance and support for Smart City-projects.

More information about Marxman Advocaten can be found at www.marxman.nl