Personal privacy VS. public safety: A hybrid model of the use of smart city solutions in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Moscow

Public administration and development. 2022. Vol. 42. No. 5. P. 281–292.

Sergey A. Revyakin

Technological advancements and big data have brought many improvements to smart city infrastructure. During the COVID‐19 outbreak, smart city technologies were considered one of the most effective means of fighting the pandemic. The use of technology, however, implies collecting, processing personal data, and making the collected data publicly available, which may violate privacy. While some countries were able to freely use these technologies to fight the pandemic, many others were restricted by their privacy protection legislation. The literature suggests looking for an approach that will allow the effective use of smart city technologies during the pandemic, while complying with strict privacy protection legislation. This article explores the approach applied in Moscow, Russia, and demonstrates the existence of a hybrid model that might be considered a suitable tradeoff between personal privacy and public health. This study contributes to the literature on the role of smart city technologies during pandemics and other emergencies.

Keywords: здравоохранение, Москва, чрезвычайные ситуации, Moscow, smart cities, privacy, public health, смарт сити, конфиденциальность, COVID-19, Emergencies, COVID-19

Publication based on the results of: The Role of Citizen Self-Organization Institutions in the Post-Crisis Development of Economy and the Social Sphere (2022)