BUILDING A DIGITAL FUTURE: GOVERNANCE, SMART CITIES AND DIGITAL RIGHTS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD

Digital transformation is one of the most profound processes of reconfiguring contemporary societies, with a major impact on the way public administrations, cities, and citizens’ rights are designed. This article explores, from an interdisciplinary perspective - legal, technological, sociological, and administrative - the evolution of digital governance in the context of globalization and the emergence of smart cities. We analyse the EU regulatory framework that completes the digital picture of the future of governance, including the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Regulation on Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS Regulation), the AI Regulation, as well as the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, documents establishing the legislative architecture of a people-centred digital transformation, fundamental rights, cross-border electronic transactions, online services, e-commerce platforms, blurring from the barriers that prevent the smooth use of trust services and electronic identification in all EU Member States. They are designed as regulations that function as a “genetic code” of the Union digital ecosystem, a code that encompasses a set of principles that shape how technology serves, but does not dominate the society