The paper explores the impact of algorithmic tools on territorial governance, both within and beyond the urban context. The issue of the shift in governance power from the public sphere to private actors is brought to light through the analysis of case studies such as Cybermoor, the Block by Block platform, and the Street Bump application. Digitalisation and, more broadly, the use of algorithms in this specific sector, while potentially capable of compensating for the absence of public solutions, tends to reinforce efficiency-driven logics that may come at the expense of equity and administrative participation. By delegating the development and implementation of such systems to private operators, public administrations risk relinquishing control over the decisions made on the basis of those systems. This entails a redefinition of the concept of public service, increasingly tailored to the individual user, who also acquires the power to evaluate and thereby influence the service on a personal basis. As a response to these issues, the paper advocates for the revival of common principles of administrative law beyond the confines of the national state as a way to restore minimum safeguards for individuals and to prevent the simulacrum of efficiency from eclipsing the care for the general interest.