IOT-ENABLED PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: LEGAL STANDARDS FOR DATA COLLECTION AND USAGE

Abstract

The increasing speed of usability of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the context of the work of the sphere of public administration has allowed accruing information in real-time, monitoring policy-making and providing service delivery, and transformed the system of governance. However, this development has come with some complex legal challenges, including privacy, accountability, transparency, and the ownership of these data. The paper is going to discuss the potential application of the IoT in the current system of public administration, focusing on norms of law that should be respected to enable its data collection and utilization in an ethical and lawful manner. The areas of weakness/vulnerability in the sense of consent, data security, surveillance safeguards, and data retention are deemed as important issues with regard to the compliance to regulatory frameworks/regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Indian Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP, 2023) and the regulatory policies by sectors and are identified in the study. It adopts a combination of a doctrinal analysis of legislative provision with a comparison of case law precedent and international norm. The study also makes the use of conceptual framework that explains the interplay between integration of IoT in governance and the legal doctrine that governs the flow of data. The results indicate that IoT-based governance can potentially guarantee effectiveness and engagement with the citizens, nevertheless, with irregular execution of regulatory policies and hence fragmented regulations, there are always instances of rights breaches and espousal of sensitive information. The response proves the necessity of unified norms of law which would be capable of finding a balance between the technological revolution and freedom. The paper has provided a contribution to the modern discourse over digital governance, which gives a step-by-step guide that policy makers, lawyers and technologists can follow when assuming accountability in embracing IoT in governance.