Digital sovereignty: what are the advantages for French administrations?
The Internet has changed our daily lives, our habits, the way we consume and work. For years, individuals, businesses and administrations have been digitizing their data and that of their users, and storing them on the web without asking any questions. It was only following the increase in cybercrime and the explosion of several scandals (Snowden, Facebook, Yahoo, etc.) that the problem was finally raised: what about the protection and confidentiality of personal data?
Now, a real invisible war is playing out in the shadows: the war for the collection and protection of digital data, because digital data is considered to be powerful and valuable resources. Today, digital sovereignty has become essential because the collection and confidentiality of data are among the major strategic challenges for countries.
Discover what digital sovereignty means and what are the advantages for French administrations.
What is digital sovereignty?
For several years, human activity has been greatly digitized and today, most administrative procedures (requests for certificates of all kinds, change of address, car registration, etc.) are carried out online. Hence the importance and the need to regulate and protect cyberspace in the same way as land, air and maritime space.
A recent term
It is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force on May 25, 2018, that put digital sovereignty at the heart of concerns and news. However, this concept appeared as early as the end of the 2000s, and was then popularized by Pierre Bellanger, founder and CEO of Skyrock, and author of the book Digital Sovereignty, published in 2014.
According to a Senate report published in October 2019, digital sovereignty is the “capacity of the State to act in cyberspace”. In a sense, it is an effective means of protecting personal data. However, there is no legal or universal definition of digital sovereignty.
The definition of sovereignty
To define digital sovereignty, you must already understand what traditional sovereignty is. According to the site vie-publique.fr, “Sovereignty is defined, in law, as the possession of supreme authority, that is, absolute and unconditional power. In despotic regimes, sovereignty is most often held by one man. In democracies, it is owned by the people, constituted in a political body, the Nation: we therefore speak of national sovereignty.”
Sovereignty allows the nation to be independent and to enjoy freedom of action to meet its own needs. Applied to digital, this means that the storage (with or without consent) and the protection of individual and personal data in digital form must be managed by the country in which the holders of its data reside, and subject to the laws of the country in question.
The challenges of digital sovereignty are significant: they concern not only the privacy of millions of people, but especially the economic competitiveness and national security of all.
The benefits of digital sovereignty
Today, data management has become a fully-fledged international policy issue. Now, countries are (almost) no longer competing for control of physical territories, but for the conquest of the digital world and for supremacy over data.
French administrations such as the State, local authorities, schools, hospitals, etc. must implement digital sovereignty because the advantages are significant.
To be able to ensure national security
In our time, cybercrime is a real major threat for businesses as well as for the State. No organization is immune to sabotage, hacking, manipulation, cyberterrorism, or economic, commercial, and scientific espionage.
Because French administrations possess and process vital and sensitive information on the functioning of the country and on citizens, it is essential to ensure that this data is safe and protected by French laws because its acquisition by other countries or by malicious individuals could endanger national security.
In the same way that France defends its land, sea and air territory using an army, it must, thanks to digital sovereignty, ensure the security of the national cyberspace so that it remains a safe place for all. Thus, the country maintains national security and allows the protection of critical state infrastructures.
Maintaining the trust of citizens
French administrations are in possession of very sensitive data concerning all citizens of the country: medical, family, professional data, etc. French citizens trust them to ensure that this data is managed securely and in complete confidentiality. Nobody wants to see their private data come to light or be hacked and used for blackmail, for example.
Thus, digital sovereignty contributes to restoring citizens' confidence in the French administration, institutions and state, because it ensures their protection as well as the protection of their personal data, and therefore of their privacy.
Encouraging the digital transition
As we said, today, the majority of administrative procedures can (and should) be carried out online. It is part of what we call the digital transition. While this reduces waiting times and simplifies and accelerates procedures, the risk for the personal data collected is greater, which may put off some citizens.
Digital sovereignty ensures that individual and personal data are stored on French territory and that they are therefore protected by French laws. This helps to reassure the most reluctant citizens and to encourage them to go digital to complete all their procedures.
To conclude
The government has recognized the importance of digital sovereignty and its benefits. Since the end of 2018, the Law for a digital republic aims to promote the openness and circulation of data and knowledge, while guaranteeing a digital environment that respects the privacy of users and facilitating citizens' access to digital technology.
Bonus : discover how the digital transformation within local authorities and how you can succeed in your digital transformation as a business.
