I notice that many public authorities are moving towards automating their work. As a result, citizens are required to submit their requests only in electronic form, or receive bills or information on the progress of their requests only in electronic form.
My Office welcomes these initiatives, which are likely in some cases to be imposed by law, such as TAXISNET, and are aimed at reducing bureaucracy, costs and providing faster service to citizens. However, the automation of tasks also creates problems for persons who do not have the digital skills to meet the new requirements.
Such a problem arises, for example, when a citizen is required to provide an email address to receive utility bills and is forced to provide the email address of a relevant person. As a result, information is disclosed to that person that the citizen might not have wanted to disclose.
A citizen's access to public services is a matter that concerns only him or her. The issue of potential discrimination does not concern my Office. However, if a citizen is forced to disclose personal data to third parties in order to obtain certain services, this is a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation.
It is my Office's firm position that when an authority plans to automate certain tasks, it must provide citizens who do not have the required skills with alternative ways of carrying them out without putting their personal data at risk.
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