Odd that Dutch municipality is promoting Microsoft
in the media image: Bolivia Inteligent on Unsplash
Breda features prominently in a Microsoft customer story about AI, but the city says it is not advertising. Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of Digitalisation at the OU, warns that ‘considering the democratic rule of law, local governments should not lend themselves to the promotion of tech companies.’
Microsoft's website has a customer story where the city of Breda shows how it is trying to tackle staff shortages with Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot. Breda emphasises that this is no advertising campaign: it received no remuneration and it was only an example of innovation within local government.
Passchier says that Breda had acted irresponsibly. ‘Microsoft’s website isn’t a neutral platform. Considering the democratic rule of law, a municipality like Breda should not lend itslf to the promotion of specific companies and specific products, especially since there are issues with Copilot in terms of privacy, copyright and the climate.’ Digital sovereignty is currently a hot topic when it comes to technology. Big tech's cloud policy means that municipalities are now heavily dependent on Microsoft. Breda should be more cautious when it comes to communication on this point, instead of recommending closer cooperation with Microsoft.
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Read the full article in Binnenlands Bestuur (in Dutch)