The Promise and Challenges of Privacy in Smart Cities: The Case of Phuket

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to examine privacy and personal data-related issues arising from the smart city development. Based on recent smart city campaigns in Phuket involving closed-circuit television (CCTV) installation and digitally-tracking wristbands, the author finds that local actors’ privacy perceptions and data processing practices substantially deviate from the privacy views and practices required by the Thai Personal Data Protection Act. This deviation will potentially result in the lack of actual implementation or inevitable forced changes to the local community life just to meet the new legal standard. The global–local tension created by norms brought by visitors from various cultural backgrounds and the local tradition makes finding a common ground far more difficult. The case demonstrates the limitations of current legal approaches to embracing diverse societal views and interests, while also paving the possibility of a new way to understand privacy in smart cities and integrate this knowledge into their universal design.