FT Tech Tonic Reclaiming Europe's digital sovereignty
Oct 25, 2017
Francesca Bria, Head of Barcelona's Digital Innovation Office, is spearheading efforts to give citizens a say in their digital future. She discusses Barcelona's initiatives to promote data ownership and transparency, moving away from surveillance economies. The conversation highlights the DECODE project, aiming to create decentralized data ecosystems. Bria also touches on innovative approaches to affordable housing and the importance of platform cooperatives like Fairbnb. Ultimately, she champions technology as a means to empower communities and strengthen democracy.
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Platform Power Erodes Trust
- Surveillance-driven platform economies concentrate power and erode trust in public institutions.
- Francesca Bria argues Europe must build alternatives rooted in democratic control and data rights.
Build Community-Led Data Infrastructure
- Build distributed, privacy-first infrastructure to let citizens own and control their data.
- Use iterative community pilots rather than top-down single solutions to design usable alternatives.
GDPR Enables Data Self-Determination
- GDPR creates legal space for experiments that return data control to people.
- Bria frames encryption and information self-determination as citizen rights embedded in infrastructure.