Abstract:
This article examines the relationship between data and public administration. At first glance, the subject might appear to be a matter of government transparency and open
data alone; in fact, it reaches considerably further. Public administration lies at the heart of the data economy, which it organizes as much as it takes part in. Far from being confined to public-sector data, it governs both the flow of private data and the protection of personal data. The stakes are as broad as they are varied, spanning the pursuit of the public interest, the stimulation of the market, and the safeguarding of privacy. To reconcile them, public administration commands a range of instruments and techniques designed to strike the best possible balance. Yet the very nature of the data economy exceeds the reach of any single national administration. In the age of artificial intelligence, the equilibria that once prevailed are being disrupted, reshaping the very challenges that public administration must now confront.
