Digital citizenship is the set of rights and duties that aims to simplify the relationship between citizens, businesses and the public administration through digital technologies. Identity, domicile and digital signatures are therefore part of the concept of digital citizenship.
The Digital Citizenship Charter establishes the right of citizens and businesses to access data, documents and services of their interest in digital mode, using information and communication technologies.
The purpose of the Digital Citizenship Charter is precisely to simplify access to services, reducing the need for physical access to public offices. Let’s find out together in detail what digital citizenship is and what it entails.
THE DIGITAL ADMINISTRATION CODE
The first version of the Digital Administration Code dates back to 2005 and was born as a set of provisions aimed at establishing the right of citizens and businesses to contact the public administration through digital technologies. In addition, the DAC also establishes the duty of public administrations to equip themselves with the digital tools necessary to enable citizens to exercise this right.
Today the DAC is in its sixth version and provides for both the identification of new digital tools and services, and the strengthening of existing ones, as envisaged in the Three-year Plan for information technology in the public administration.
The goal of the Digital Administration Code is to simplify the operations carried out by the public administration and to “bring it closer” to citizens through a central control panel.
The digital home and the sole digital ombudsman
One of the first digital citizenship rights consists in the choice of a digital home to receive the communications of the Public Administration electronically. It is a certified or qualified e-mail address, activated by possession of a SPID digital identity and a qualified address. Electronic communications sent to the digital home have the same legal effects as communications by registered mail with return receipt.
The sole digital ombudsman was established to guarantee citizens’ digital citizenship rights. This figure intervenes with defaulting administrations or public services suppliers, in order to invite them to remove obstacles to the exercise of digital citizenship rights.
In addition, the digital citizenship card provides for the right to make digital and electronic payments to the public administration and public services operators with any payment method.
The digital signature and electronic identity card
The digital signature enables to exchange documents with full legal validity online, using a pair of asymmetric digital keys. The private key is held by the owner to generate the digital signature to be affixed to the document, the public key is used to verify the validity of the signature.
The Public System for the management of the Digital Identity of citizens and businesses, also called SPID, allows citizens to access the online services offered by public administrations with a single digital identity. it represents in computer form the correspondence between a user and his/ her distinguishing mark verified and recorded in digital form.
The electronic identity card is a secure personal document, equipped with a radio frequency microchip that stores the owner’s data to certify his/her identity. It is equivalent to a travel document in all the countries of the European Union. From 2017 it is requested when the expiry of your traditional identity card or in the event of its loss or theft.
The National Registry of Resident Population
The National Registry of Resident Population was established in 2012 with the aim of bringing together all the municipal registry offices in a single telematic infrastructure, replacing the National Registry Index (INA) and the Registry of Italian Resident Population Abroad (AIRE). In addition to simplifying changes of residence, emigrations, immigrations and censuses, it will guarantee the security of personal data.
EDUCATING ON DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
Educating on digital citizenship means allowing citizens to exercise their citizenship by consciously using technological tools, based on individual needs. It also means knowing how to protect yourself from scams on internet and social media, respecting specific rules, such as respect for privacy, copyright and the like.
Digital natives are those born in technology and therefore use technological means in a natural way. They communicate, interact and learn in a new way compared to previous generations, thanks to new technologies.
Digital immigrants, on the other hand, are older people who brought technologies into their daily lives even though they are not digital natives.
The digital native and the digital immigrant seek information and process it in a different way, also requiring a change of the traditional school model.
THE ELEMENTS OF DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
Digital citizenship is composed of the following elements:
- digital access: all users must have the same digital rights and equal access to technologies. The goal of digital citizens is to prevent digital exclusion which makes it difficult for society to grow by using these tools
- digital commerce: the market economy is increasingly electronic, but many goods and services that can be purchased on the internet conflict with the laws or morals of countries, such as illegal downloads, pornography and gambling;
- digital communication: with the digital revolution, you communicate without space limitations and in constant contact thanks to e-mail, smartphone and instant messaging. Faced with all these possibilities of digital communication, users must make choices
- digital skills: it is still along the path of Italian schools towards new technologies. The new technologies applied in the labour market are not used in schools, therefore a development of digital skills is needed. In a constantly evolving world, students should learn to use technologies effectively and appropriately
- netiquette: keeping a correct code of conduct in the use of technologies is a complex issue. But there is a digital etiquette normally present in forums, communities and social networks. These rules and regulations guarantee respect for others like it is required by situations in which we “traditionally” interact with other people
- digital law rules: digital law deals with technological ethics within society, therefore also with situations such as theft and criminal acts. Misappropriating something online, without the license of use, is a real crime. They are digital criminal acts, for example, the unauthorised hacking of information, the illegal download of music and films, the plagiarism, the creation of viruses, the spam sending and the theft of digital identity
- Citizenship and digital rights and duties - The basic rights of digital citizens guarantee privacy, freedom of expression and personal protection. They also imply responsibilities as well as duties shared and accepted by all citizens
- digital health and well-being: eye health, repetitive stress syndrome and internet addiction are some of the increasingly common problems among users. Digital citizenship includes teaching useful practices to protect users from the internet’s risks;
- digital security: there is also theft and damage in the digital community at the expense of third parties. To ensure the same security we need to protect our systems from viruses, back up data and avoid damaging electronic tools
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