The ideal vision of a Smart City is that services and objects are connected to the public infrastructure in order to optimise in energy use, traffic, safety, or quality of life in general. Despite the gains on many levels, critics see it as a risk of constant surveillance by the state. Amélie Heldt sees in the Hong Kong protests a good example to show what happens when the cornerstones of a democratic system begin to totter. In this context, Hong Kong’s Octopus Card becomes a symbol of fear of the networked cities of the future.
