Abstract: SST refers to digital technologies applied to the sanitation industry. The breadth of applications can be wide, but they are quickly rising as popular public health tools, especially thanks to their potential for epidemiological analysis. While SST might sustain the vision of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it can also lead the continuous surveillance of individual existence—an often-criticized feature of smart city architecture—to an exceedingly intimate location: the toilet. The data collected by many SST applications can be considered health data whose improper use can generate harm and stigma. Yet, even though SST applications are multiplying, this technology is largely unregulated. This paper applies some basic and uncontroversial principles (scientific evidence, necessity, proportionality, time boundedness, and privacy) that should guide any on-the-ground implementation of SST, providing the first discussion of a policy framework for this technology.

Short Bio: Maria Carnovale studies under what conditions public interest technology maximizes well-being without damaging individuals and communities and what policies can foster this process. She is a Lecturer at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a freelance writer. She serves as Visiting Associate at the Pulte Institute for Global Development at the University of Notre Dame and Senior Policy Analyst at Katametron, a non-profit based in Geneva. In this talk, she will outline what Smart Sanitation Technology is, review some prominent use cases and potential, and outline what policy considerations should guide any on-the-ground implementation.