Assessing the European approach to privacy and data protection in smart grids. Lessons for emerging technologies

Smart grids offer novel means of energy governance and promise an adequate response to environmental, societal and technical developments of the 21st century. At the same time, they are capable of invading the sacrosanctity of the most privacy-sensitive place – the home. This chapter sketches several societal challenges that smart grids pose, and amongst these the threat of abusive surveillance practices. The “light” regulatory approach that the European Union has taken as a response is subsequently overviewed and critically assessed. We argue that this approach and its core element, i.e. a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) framework, is rather a missed opportunity. We conclude that impact assessments of emerging technologies must be inclusive, easy to use and flexible, satisfying certain quality criteria

ISBN:9780128021224

Jaar van publicatie:2015

Trefwoorden:smart grids, privacy, data protection, impact assessment, risk, surveillance

Toegankelijkheid:Closed