Open Data for Lebanon. Blessing or Curse?
Open data is information that can be freely used, shared or built-on by anyone, anywhere, for any purpose. According to Kitchin, R. (2014) for data to be considered “open” it must be: Accessible, which usually means published on the web. Second, it should be, available in a machine-readable format that ensures interoperability . Finally, the source spreading the data should have a license that permits anyone to access, use and share it.
According to Kitchin, R. (2014) open data is used in three different cases: legal, political and economic. The legal case for open data means; the right to information which is an essential human right, protected by a majority of national constitutions. The political case for open data ensures transparency and accountability and promotes active citizenship.The economic case for open data Public data adds remarkable value to existing businesses and opens up new business opportunities, applications and services.
Civic engagement blossoms when there is open data, and all the information is shown bluntly to the public. This creates public engagement, when the government surrenders to the public and gives out all the data bluntly. This reflects transparency and trust. Allowing people to access to raw data or relevant insights allowing them to develop a stance towards their government where they either mobilize their discontent or engage in satisfaction. A better informed citizenry and open government will promote informed decision-making and a higher proficiency in problem-solving (Kitchin, p. 55, 2011).
With open access to government records in Lebanon, there will be a fascinating change in a lot of different issues. To begin with, open data for transportation will show the traffic situation on the roads which will make citizens daily life easier. Just like the Mapzen application in Philippines that measures the urban congestion. This open traffic platform collects anonymous locations of people from their smartphones and converts this raw information into real time transportation statistics. In other words, citizens would be aware if there is traffic or not. So if a person is late for a meeting or is simply going out he would know which road to take in order to avoid the traffic jam. In 2014, the application Tari2ak was launched in Lebanon, it is similar to the Mapzen application.This a mobile app uses smartphones as sensors to detect your movement activity (using an AI algorithm) and then detects your location using GPS to report real-time traffic conditions. All is done passively without any effort or human intervention.
What you get as a result is a map like the one shown above, with lights indicating the traffic status. Generally, a green traffic line means the average speed on that street is above 40 km/h, orange indicates the average speed is between 20 km/h and 40 km/h, and red is below 20 km/h.
Moreover, since the date of the parliamentary elections is near, citizens should be aware of everything that is happening.
LADE and Lamba Labs, a local hacker space in Beirut, launched the Lebanese Elections Data Platform to provide data and trends on voter registration and participation by ethnicity, religion and gender. It provides open election data to facilitate evidence-based discussions on election reform as well as empower civil society to effectively engage in the process. The platform marks a growing community of election data hackers building tools for better, more fair elections.
Lebanon is one of the very few countries that lacks functional addresses, postal codes and effective maps. The government’s national map data lacks markings of a number of national roads, streams, rivers, lakes and mountains. This can be highly problematic for postal services, researchers, and advertisers who use location data to target their audiences. Not to mention the struggles most Lebanese people face when locating their destinations on GPS or google maps. Lebanese maps and location data need development to ensure they are accurate, up-to-date, and accessible. In a business and marketing context, possible benefits could be the growth of GPS-driven industries, improved end-user experiences, and development of location-specific market knowledge (Kitchin, p. 56, 2014), which in turn would also benefit the country in generating new jobs, receiving more funds and transforming it into a hub for digital industries.
Government data can be a powerful weapon in tackling all forms of corruption by revealing how much must be done to shine a light on the shadows where corrupt activity has taken place. However, it is important to remember that there is a gap between those who hold and use the data to make decisions and those that are affected by those decisions. Open data on social grievances, such as war crimes and sectarian feuds, must be handled with delicate care. Sensitive data might have political and security consequences if placed in the wrong hands.
Open government data must be complete, primary, timely, easily accessible, machine-readable, non-discriminating, available under explicitly stated terms of use which allows its reuse with minimal restrictions, permanent, and available to the potential users for minimal possible costs (Kitchin, p. 51–52, 2014). With a lot of information comes extraordinary dangers including protection encroachment and error of the information. The Government must be aware of their duties to ensure the protection and security of people in general depicted in the information and know about its deliberate and inadvertent abuse. Anonymizing and conglomerating delicate information may be an alternative to battle these security assurance concerns (Kucera and Chlapek, p, 36, 2014).
Sources:
Global Open Data Index. (2015). Lebanon [Data file]. Retrieved from http://index.okfn.org/place/lebanon/
Kitchin, R. (2014). Conceptualizing data. The data revolution (pp. 3–13). New York, NY: Sage Publications Ltd.
Kitchin, R. (2014). Open and linked data. The data revolution (pp. 48–66). New York, NY: Sage Publications Ltd.
Kucera, J. and Chlapek D. (2014). Benefits and risks of open government data. Journal of systems integration, 1, 30–41. Retrieved from http://www.si-journal.org/index.php/JSI/article/viewFile/185/254
