Their Majesty’s Royal Office, in collaboration with the Department of Exterior Affairs, launched a public survey for people in the micronational community to complete. The focus on the survey was data in micronationalism, and how Citizens and Governments of micronations felt about the data they shared or collected.
The purpose of the survey was to look into whether it would be worthwhile for Their Majesty’s Royal Office and the Department of Exterior Affairs to invest time in creating resources and advice for micronational Governments to follow in regards to collecting Citizen data, keeping Citizen data safe and giving Citizens the tools they need to keep in control of their data.
The Royal Government of Hokoria itself has invested time into creating policies and procedures in regards to the data that we collect. Furthermore, advanced automations make managing data simple for our Citizens. We want to share this with micronations in order to support them and their Citizens with everything data related.
It should be noted that data laws vary across the world, and you may be subject to laws that affect the way you can handle and use data. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are compliant with the law- the Royal Government of Hokoria takes no responsibility nor liability for damages caused by following our advice.
The data
At the time of writing this report, the ‘Data in micronationalism’ survey launched by Their Majesty’s Royal Office has received 33 responses in a 7 day period (25th June 2024). The survey was split into 2 main section: micronational Citizens and micronational Governments.
Throughout this report, Citizens will refer to any individual that is considered to be a Citizen of a micronation through an application to a micronation. Government will refer to the primary governing body of a micronation that provides public services and can grant citizenship to a person.
Micronational Citizens
The micronational Citizens questions were directed at the Citizens of micronations, and how they felt about the way that micronational Governments handled their data.
“Does it matter to you how a Government stores your information when you apply for Citizenship?”
78.8% of respondents said that yes, it mattered to them. 21.2% of respondents said that no, it didn’t matter to them. From this, there is a clear response that micronational Citizens typically do care about how a Government stores their data when they apply for citizenship.
“Does it matter to you whether a Government informs you how your information is used when you apply for Citizenship?”
84.8% of respondents said that yes, it mattered to them. 15.2% of respondents said that no, it didn’t matter to them. From this, there is a clear response that micronational Citizens typically do care about if Governments inform them of how their data is used when they apply for citizenship.
“Does it matter to you whether a Government allows you to change your information after applying for Citizenship?”
84.8% of respondents said that yes, it mattered to them. 15.2% of respondents said that no, it didn’t matter to them. From this, there is a clear response that micronational Citizens typically do care about if Governments allow them to change their information after they apply for Citizenship.
“Does it matter to you whether a Government allows you to request removal of your information after applying for Citizenship?”
69.7% of respondents said that yes, it mattered to them. 30.3% of respondents said that no, it didn’t matter to them. There is a slight majority of respondents that care about a Government allowing them to request that their information is removed after applying for Citizenship.
“Does it matter to you whether a Government has a specified individual in charge of data-related concerns?”
51.5% of respondents said that yes, it mattered to them. 48.5% of respondents said that no, it didn’t matter to them. There was an almost equal response to this question, with close to half of respondents saying that they care about there being a specified individual in charge of data-related concerns, with close to half of respondents also saying that they didn’t care.
“Have you ever experienced your private information being published by a Government after applying for Citizenship?”
97% of respondents said that no, they hadn’t experienced this. 3% of respondents said that yes, they have experienced this. Almost all respondents reported not having experienced their private information being published by a Government after they applied for citizenship.
“Does a Government being transparent about how your information is used make you feel more confident in the Government?”
90.9% of respondents said that yes, it made them feel more confident. 9.1% of respondents said that no, it didn’t make them feel more confident. From this, there is a clear response that micronational Citizens typically feel more confident in a Government when they are informed about how their information is used.
There were no notable additional comments.
Micronational Governments
The micronational Governments questions were directed at the Governments of micronations, and how they handled the data of micronational Citizens.
“Does your Government have a privacy policy that states how information is stored, why it is used and the rights individuals have in regards to your information?”
63.6% of respondents said that no, they did not. 36.4% of respondents said that yes, they did. There is a slight majority of respondents that reported not having a privacy policy that states how information is used, why it is used and the rights that individuals have in regards to their information.
Some of the common reasons provided for not having a privacy policy included:
- The micronational Government could not ‘find’ one.
- The micronational Government did not store their Citizens’ information.
- The micronational Government did not believe a policy was needed.
- The micronational Government was too small/inactive to create one.
- The micronational Government believed the nation was too small for one.
“Does your Government allow individuals to request their information is updated or removed?”
81.8% of respondents said that yes, they did. 18.2% said that no, they did not. There is a clear majority of respondents that reported allowing their Citizens to request that their information is updated or removed.
Some of the common reasons for not allowing this included:
- The micronational Government did not store their Citizens’ information.
- The micronational Government was too small to handle this.
“Has your Government ever experienced a data breach or data leak?”
97% of respondents said that no, they hadn’t. 3% of respondents said that yes, they had. From this, there is a clear majority of respondents that reported not experiencing a data breach or data leak.
“Where does your Government store Citizen information?”
Common answers to this question included Google Sheets, Excel and a physical document.
“Who in the Government can access Citizen information?”
Common answers to this question included the Heads of State, Heads of Government and Minister-level staff of a Government.
“Would your Government benefit from tools and resources about transparency and protection of information?”
75.8% of respondents said yes, they would. 24.2% of respondents said no, they would not. From this, there is a clear majority of respondents that would find tools and resources about transparency and data protection particularly useful.
There were no notable additional comments.
Conclusion
It’s important to emphasise that the survey was open for a period of 7 days, and received 33 responses. It was targeted at micronationalists and shared through many Discord servers. Respondents had to answer the questions in both sections (micronational Citizens and micronational Governments).
Most Citizens said that they did care about how Governments use their information, and that they appreciated transparency from Governments about how their information is used. However, most Governments said that they were not transparent about how they used the information of Citizens and the rights that they had in regards to their data. From this, it is clear that Governments are not meeting the needs and demands of Citizens. Almost all respondents said that they had more confidence in Governments that were transparent about how their information was used.
The majority of Citizens said that they cared about being able to change their information, with a slightly lower number saying that they also cared about being able to request that their information be removed. Most Governments reported allowing their Citizens to change their information or request that their information be removed. From this, it’s clear that there is both demand and a reasonable response from most Governments to facilitate the demand.
Our response
Their Majesty’s Royal Office will work with the Department of Exterior Affairs, the Governments of foreign territories and intermicronational organisations to create resources that support micronational Citizens with knowing their rights and micronational Governments with being transparent and facilitating data-related demands.
This will be done through different mediums, which may include:
- An intermicronational treaty that allows Governments to commit to certain rules of information which will include transparency, allowing Citizens to change their information, allowing Citizens to request the removal of information and more.
- A guide about how Governments can facilitate allowing Citizens to change their information and allow Citizens to request the removal of information in the easiest possible manner.
- A guide about how Governments can store and protect the information of Citizens in the easiest possible manner.
- The establishment of a non-organisational group that can continuously provide up to date and robust resources and recommendations to micronational Governments in regards to the information of Citizens.
Any further recommendations of responses can be directed to Their Majesty’s Royal Office for consideration. Email royaloffice@govhok.uk.