IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control Home About Editors Current Issue
-
CiteScore
1.13
Impact Factor
  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control
  4. Volume 2, Issue 1
Navigating Ethical Challenges in 6G-Enabled Smart Cities: Privacy, Equity, and Governance
Review Article | Published: 27 March 2025
IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control Volume 2, Issue 1, 2025: 48-65
Volume 2, Issue 1, IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control
Volume 2, Issue 1, 2025
Submit Manuscript Edit a Special Issue
Article QR Code
Article QR Code
Scan the QR code for reading
Popular articles
Research on A Ship Trajectory Classification Method Based on Deep Learning YOLOv7-Bw: A Dense Small Object Efficient Detector Based on Remote Sensing Image A Mimic Fusion Algorithm for Dual Channel Video Based on Possibility Distribution Synthesis Theory Deep Prediction Network Based on Covariance Intersection Fusion for Sensor Data Bridging Modalities: A Survey of Cross-Modal Image-Text Retrieval Visual Feature Extraction and Tracking Method Based on Corner Flow Detection Inaugural Editorial of the Chinese Journal of Information Fusion Simultaneous Spatiotemporal Bias Compensation and Data Fusion for Asynchronous Multisensor Systems YOLOv8-Lite: A Lightweight Object Detection Model for Real-time Autonomous Driving Systems Extraction of Motion Information from Occupancy Grid Map Using Keystone Transform
IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2025: 48-65

Free to Read | Review Article | 27 March 2025
Navigating Ethical Challenges in 6G-Enabled Smart Cities: Privacy, Equity, and Governance
by
Sumaira Rafique Sumaira Rafique 1 *
Sundas Iqbal Sundas Iqbal 2
Danish Ali Danish Ali 3 *
Farhad Khan Farhad Khan 4
1 National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54700, Pakistan
2 School of Software, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
3 School of Computer Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
4 School of Economics and Management, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
* Corresponding Authors: Sumaira Rafique, [email protected] ; Danish Ali, [email protected]
DOI: 10.62762/TSCC.2025.291581
Received: 13 November 2024, Accepted: 09 March 2025, Published: 27 March 2025  
   PDF  (3.07 MB) Full-Text HTML XML
Article Metrics Cite This Article
Abstract
The rapid urbanization and technological advancements have driven the development of smart cities, envisioned as sustainable, efficient, and interconnected urban spaces. The integration of sixth-generation (6G) wireless technology in smart cities promises unprecedented opportunities in connectivity, low-latency communication, and data management, which transforms urban living. However, this evolution raises critical ethical concerns related to privacy, inclusion, transparency, accountability, and environmental sustainability. This paper explores the ethical considerations inherent in designing smart cities with 6G, emphasizing data governance, equity, and human-centric approaches. It delves into frameworks such as utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and virtue-based ethics to address issues such as algorithmic bias, data privacy, and societal inclusion. The review highlights the challenges of ensuring equitable access to technology, minimizing surveillance risks, and fostering transparent decision-making in urban governance. It also underscores the importance of sustainable practices and environmental ethics, advocating for energy-efficient systems and the principles of circular economy in 6G-enabled urban ecosystems. By examining these dimensions, the paper offers actionable recommendations for stakeholders, including policymakers, urban planners, and technology developers, to balance technological innovation with ethical responsibility. This study serves as a critical guide to ensure that the future of smart cities is not only technologically advanced but also socially equitable, sustainable, and aligned with human dignity.
Graphical Abstract
Navigating Ethical Challenges in 6G-Enabled Smart Cities: Privacy, Equity, and Governance
Keywords
smart cities
6G technology
ethical considerations
privacy, inclusivity
data governance
Data Availability Statement
Not applicable.
Funding
This work was supported without any funding.
Conflicts of Interest
This work was supported without any funding.
Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate
Not applicable.
References
  1. Ali, D., Iqbal, S., Mehmood, S., Khalil, I., Ullah, I., Khan, H., & Ali, F. (2024). Unleashing the Power of AI in Communication Technology: Advances, Challenges, and Collaborative Prospects. In Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Security: Smart Applications and Sustainable Technologies (pp. 211-226). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  2. Kummitha, R. K. R., & Crutzen, N. (2017). How do we understand smart cities? An evolutionary perspective. Cities, 67, 43-52.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  3. Alraih, S., Shayea, I., Behjati, M., Nordin, R., Abdullah, N. F., Abu-Samah, A., & Nandi, D. (2022). Revolution or evolution? Technical requirements and considerations towards 6G mobile communications. Sensors, 22(3), 762.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  4. Sharma, S., Popli, R., Singh, S., Chhabra, G., Saini, G. S., Singh, M., ... & Kumar, R. (2024). The role of 6G technologies in advancing smart city applications: Opportunities and challenges. Sustainability, 16(16), 7039.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  5. Singh, M., Sardar, A. R., Majumder, K., & Sarkar, S. K. (2017). A lightweight trust mechanism and overhead analysis for clustered WSN. IETE Journal of research, 63(3), 297-308.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  6. Alsaeedy, A. A., & Chong, E. K. (2019). Mobility management for 5G IoT devices: Improving power consumption with lightweight signaling overhead. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 6(5), 8237-8247.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  7. Alahi, M. E. E., Sukkuea, A., Tina, F. W., Nag, A., Kurdthongmee, W., Suwannarat, K., & Mukhopadhyay, S. C. (2023). Integration of IoT-enabled technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) for smart city scenario: recent advancements and future trends. Sensors, 23(11), 5206.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  8. Lyon, D. (2001). Surveillance society. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Fracassi, C., & Magnuson, W. (2021). Data autonomy. Vand. L. Rev., 74, 327.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Allam, Z., & Jones, D. S. (2021). Future (post-COVID) digital, smart and sustainable cities in the wake of 6G: Digital twins, immersive realities and new urban economies. Land use policy, 101, 105201.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  11. Shelton, T., & Lodato, T. (2019). Actually existing smart citizens: Expertise and (non) participation in the making of the smart city. City, 23(1), 35-52.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  12. Silva, B. N., Khan, M., & Han, K. (2018). Towards sustainable smart cities: A review of trends, architectures, components, and open challenges in smart cities. Sustainable cities and society, 38, 697-713.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  13. Brin, D. (1999). The transparent society: Will technology force us to choose between privacy and freedom?. Basic Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Kashef, M., Visvizi, A., & Troisi, O. (2021). Smart city as a smart service system: Human-computer interaction and smart city surveillance systems. Computers in Human Behavior, 124, 106923.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  15. Imoize, A. L., Adedeji, O., Tandiya, N., & Shetty, S. (2021). 6G enabled smart infrastructure for sustainable society: Opportunities, challenges, and research roadmap. Sensors, 21(5), 1709.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  16. Ahmad, K., Maabreh, M., Ghaly, M., Khan, K., Qadir, J., & Al-Fuqaha, A. (2022). Developing future human-centered smart cities: Critical analysis of smart city security, Data management, and Ethical challenges. Computer Science Review, 43, 100452.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  17. Ramírez-Moreno, M. A., Keshtkar, S., Padilla-Reyes, D. A., Ramos-López, E., García-Martínez, M., Hernández-Luna, M. C., ... & Lozoya-Santos, J. D. J. (2021). Sensors for sustainable smart cities: A review. Applied Sciences, 11(17), 8198.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  18. Gupta, S., Sehgal, M., Makkar, R., Reddy, A. P. C., & Khan, H. (2025). Using 6G to Boost Smart Cities: New Ways to Connect and Save Energy in Cities. In Building Tomorrow's Smart Cities With 6G Infrastructure Technology (pp. 79-112). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Anthopoulos, L. G. (2017). Understanding smart cities: A tool for smart government or an industrial trick? (Vol. 22, p. 293). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  20. Ylianttila, M., Kantola, R., Gurtov, A., Mucchi, L., Oppermann, I., Yan, Z., ... & Röning, J. (2020). 6G white paper: Research challenges for trust, security and privacy. arXiv preprint arXiv:2004.11665.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Murroni, M., Anedda, M., Fadda, M., Ruiu, P., Popescu, V., Zaharia, C., & Giusto, D. (2023). 6G—Enabling the new smart city: A survey. Sensors, 23(17), 7528.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  22. Green, B. (2019). The smart enough city: Putting technology in its place to reclaim our urban future. MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Bibri, S. E. (2022). The social shaping of the metaverse as an alternative to the imaginaries of data-driven smart Cities: A study in science, technology, and society. Smart Cities, 5(3), 832-874.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  24. Wheeler, S. (2013). Planning for sustainability: creating livable, equitable and ecological communities. Routledge.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  25. Carey, M. J., Ceri, S., Bernstein, P., Dayal, U., Faloutsos, C., Freytag, J. C., ... & Widom, J. (2006). Data-Centric Systems and Applications. Italy: Springer.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  26. Townsend, A. M. (2013). Smart cities: Big data, civic hackers, and the quest for a new utopia. WW Norton & Company.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Skubis, I., Wolniak, R., & Grebski, W. W. (2024). AI and Human-Centric Approach in Smart Cities Management: Case Studies from Silesian and Lesser Poland Voivodships. Sustainability, 16(18), 8279.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  28. Micek, G., Gwosdz, K., Kocaj, A., Sobala-Gwosdz, A., & Świgost-Kapocsi, A. (2022). The role of critical conjunctures in regional path creation: a study of Industry 4.0 in the Silesia region. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 9(1), 23-44.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  29. Alverti, M. N., Themistocleous, K., Kyriakidis, P. C., & Hadjimitsis, D. G. (2018). A Human Centric Approach on the Analysis of the Smart City Concept: the case study of the Limassol city in Cyprus. Advances in Geosciences, 45, 305-320.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Jin, J., Gubbi, J., Marusic, S., & Palaniswami, M. (2014). An information framework for creating a smart city through internet of things. IEEE Internet of Things journal, 1(2), 112-121.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  31. Javed, A. R., Shahzad, F., ur Rehman, S., Zikria, Y. B., Razzak, I., Jalil, Z., & Xu, G. (2022). Future smart cities: Requirements, emerging technologies, applications, challenges, and future aspects. Cities, 129, 103794.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  32. Khaloopour, L., Rouzegar, S. V., Azizi, A., Hosseinian, A., Farahnak-Ghazani, M., Bagheri, N., ... & Nasiri-Kenari, M. (2019). An experimental platform for macro-scale fluidic medium molecular communication. IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological, and Multi-Scale Communications, 5(3), 163-175.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  33. Aski, V. J., Dhaka, V. S., Parashar, A., & Rida, I. (2023). Internet of Things in healthcare: A survey on protocol standards, enabling technologies, WBAN architectures and open issues. Physical Communication, 60, 102103.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  34. Agarwal, B., Togou, M. A., Marco, M., & Muntean, G. M. (2022). A comprehensive survey on radio resource management in 5G HetNets: Current solutions, future trends and open issues. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 24(4), 2495-2534.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  35. Hayat, P. (2016). Smart cities: A global perspective. India Quarterly, 72(2), 177-191.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Adel, A., & Alani, N. H. (2024). Human-Centric Collaboration and Industry 5.0 Framework in Smart Cities and Communities: Fostering Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 9, and 11 in Society 5.0. Smart Cities, 7(4), 1723.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Oliveira, Á., Campolargo, M., & Martins, M. (2014, October). Human smart cities: A human-centric model aiming at the wellbeing and quality of life of citizens. In eChallenges e-2014 conference proceedings (pp. 1-8). IEEE.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Gunawan, K. N., Kartikasari, D., Gumilar, J., Nolasari, A. B., & Sugangga, M. (2024, September). AI-enhanced smart urban design process for salutogenic residential area: the case of Capital City of Nusantara (IKN). In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 1394, No. 1, p. 012029). IOP Publishing. 10.1088/1755-1315/1394/1/012029
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Dashkevych, O., & Portnov, B. A. (2023). Human-centric, sustainability-driven approach to ranking smart cities worldwide. Technology in Society, 74, 102296.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  40. Rani, S., Mishra, R. K., Usman, M., Kataria, A., Kumar, P., Bhambri, P., & Mishra, A. K. (2021). Amalgamation of advanced technologies for sustainable development of smart city environment: A review. IEEE Access, 9, 150060-150087.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  41. Macioszek, E., Granà, A., Fernandes, P., & Coelho, M. C. (2022). New perspectives and challenges in traffic and transportation engineering supporting energy saving in smart cities—A multidisciplinary approach to a global problem. Energies, 15(12), 4191.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  42. Chen, Y., Ardila-Gomez, A., & Frame, G. (2017). Achieving energy savings by intelligent transportation systems investments in the context of smart cities. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 54, 381-396.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  43. Ramirez Lopez, L. J., & Grijalba Castro, A. I. (2020). Sustainability and resilience in smart city planning: A review. Sustainability, 13(1), 181.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  44. Rodríguez Bolívar, M. P., Alcaide Muñoz, L., & Alcaide Muñoz, C. (2022, October). Modelling strategic planning practices considering socially vulnerable groups in smart cities. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (pp. 440-448).
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  45. Bosco, G., Riccardi, V., Sciarrone, A., D’Amore, R., & Visvizi, A. (2024). AI-driven innovation in smart city governance: achieving human-centric and sustainable outcomes. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Helbing, D., Fanitabasi, F., Giannotti, F., Hänggli, R., Hausladen, C. I., van den Hoven, J., ... & Pournaras, E. (2021). Ethics of smart cities: Towards value-sensitive design and co-evolving city life. Sustainability, 13(20), 11162.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  47. Chang, V. (2021). An ethical framework for big data and smart cities. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 165, 120559.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  48. Singh, M. P., & Murukannaiah, P. K. (2023). Toward an ethical framework for smart cities and the Internet of Things. IEEE Internet Computing, 27(2), 51-56.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  49. Shahrokni, H., & Solacolu, A. (2015, November). Real-time ethics—A technology enabled paradigm of everyday ethics in smart cities: Shifting sustainability responsibilities through citizen empowerment. In 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  50. Bibri, S. E. (2018). A foundational framework for smart sustainable city development: Theoretical, disciplinary, and discursive dimensions and their synergies. Sustainable Cities and Society, 38, 758-794.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  51. Batty, M. (2013). Big data, smart cities and city planning. Dialogues in human geography, 3(3), 274-279.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  52. Prajapati, Y., Gosai, K., Suthar, O., Singh, S. K., Usman, M. T., & Khan, H. (2025). Privacy and Security Concerns With 6G Smart City Infrastructure. In Building Tomorrow's Smart Cities With 6G Infrastructure Technology (pp. 113-136). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Li, M., Liu, Y., Tian, Z., & Shan, C. (2022). Privacy protection method based on multidimensional feature fusion under 6G networks. IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, 10(3), 1462-1471.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  54. Shi, J., Yu, Y., Yu, Q., Li, H., & Wang, L. (2022). Toward data security in 6G networks: A public-key searchable encryption approach. IEEE Network, 36(4), 166-173.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  55. Kitchin, R. (2016). The ethics of smart cities and urban science. Philosophical transactions of the royal society A: Mathematical, physical and engineering sciences, 374(2083), 20160115.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  56. Bouramdane, A. A. (2024). Enhancing disaster management in smart cities through MCDM-AHP analysis amid 21st century challenges. Information System and Smart City, 3(1).
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Wahab, F., Shah, A., Ullah, I., Khan, H., & Adhikari, D. (2024). The significance of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity. In Artificial Intelligence for Intelligent Systems (pp. 105-119). CRC Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Sharafian, A., Ullah, I., Singh, S. K., Ali, A., Khan, H., & Bai, X. (2024). Adaptive fuzzy backstepping secure control for incommensurate fractional order cyber–physical power systems under intermittent denial of service attacks. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 186, 115288.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  59. Kumar, A., Batra, N., Mudgal, A., & Yadav, A. L. (2024, March). Navigating Urban Mobility: A Review of AI-Driven Traffic Flow Management in Smart Cities. In 2024 11th International Conference on Reliability, Infocom Technologies and Optimization (Trends and Future Directions)(ICRITO) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  60. Xiong, Z., Sheng, H., Rong, W., & Cooper, D. E. (2012). Intelligent transportation systems for smart cities: a progress review. Science China Information Sciences, 55, 2908-2914.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  61. Kempin Reuter, T. (2019). Human rights and the city: Including marginalized communities in urban development and smart cities. Journal of Human Rights, 18(4), 382-402.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  62. Ertl, T., Müller, C., Aal, K., Wulf, V., Tachtler, F., Scheepmaker, L., ... & Schuler, D. (2021, June). Ethical future environments: Smart thinking about smart cities means engaging with its most vulnerable. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Communities & Technologies-Wicked Problems in the Age of Tech (pp. 340-345).
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  63. Suneetha, K., Sharma, B., & Shahid, M. (2023, December). Amalgamation of AI and Blockchain in Moving Towards Smart Cities. In 2023 International Conference on Power Energy, Environment & Intelligent Control (PEEIC) (pp. 1207-1212). IEEE.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  64. Al Nuaimi, E., Al Neyadi, H., Mohamed, N., & Al-Jaroodi, J. (2015). Applications of big data to smart cities. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 6(1), 1-15.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  65. Soomro, K., Bhutta, M. N. M., Khan, Z., & Tahir, M. A. (2019). Smart city big data analytics: An advanced review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 9(5), e1319.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  66. Gharaibeh, A., Salahuddin, M. A., Hussini, S. J., Khreishah, A., Khalil, I., Guizani, M., & Al-Fuqaha, A. (2017). Smart cities: A survey on data management, security, and enabling technologies. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 19(4), 2456-2501.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
  67. Chen, Q., Li, Y., Hong, Y., & Shi, H. (2024). Prescribed-time robust repetitive learning control for PMSM servo systems. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.
    [CrossRef]   [Google Scholar]
Cite This Article
APA Style
Rafique, S., Iqbal, S., Ali, D., & Khan, F. (2025). Navigating Ethical Challenges in 6G-Enabled Smart Cities: Privacy, Equity, and Governance. IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control, 2(1), 48–64. https://doi.org/10.62762/TSCC.2025.291581
Article Metrics
Citations:

Google Scholar
0

Crossref

0

Scopus

0

Web of Science

0
Article Access Statistics:
Views: 29
PDF Downloads: 7
Publisher's Note
IECE stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Institute of Emerging and Computer Engineers (IECE) or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control

IECE Transactions on Sensing, Communication, and Control

ISSN: 3065-7431 (Online) | ISSN: 3065-7423 (Print)

Email: [email protected]

Portico

Portico

All published articles are preserved here permanently:
https://www.portico.org/publishers/iece/

Copyright © 2025 Institute of Emerging and Computer Engineers Inc.