Big Data and Privacy

In January of 2014, President Obama commissioned a 90-day study on the effects Big Data on government, individuals, businesses, and consumers (White House, 2014).  The report evaluated the state of Big Data and its sociotechnical implications.  It included several policy recommendations. 

The policy recommendations included:

·         Advance the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

·         Pass national data breach legislation

·         Extend privacy protections to non-U.S. Persons

·         Ensure data collected on students in school is used for educational purposes

·         Expand technical expertise to stop discrimination

·         Amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act

While these recommendations are favorable to the protecting the rights of individuals in with regards to Big Data, they do not go far enough.  As is apparent in recent days, Presidential orders and agency policies are a temporary measure.  To ensure long-term protection legislation is required, or perhaps a constitutional amendment.  While the Fourth Amendment is currently being interpreted as a right to privacy, that may also change.  The United States needs a constitutional amendment stating the rights of the population with regards to privacy.

It is reasonable for an organization, government or company, to be required to disclose data collected on individuals.  For example, if a college chooses to track information on its students the students should be aware of the information being retained, who is viewing that information, and for what purpose.  The balance between advancing knowledge and the right to privacy should be addressed through a variation of informed consent.

The report does accurately recognize the opportunities that Big Data enables. There are many opportunities where analyzing medical information can lead to health-related improvements. However, people are typically very concerned about privacy and access to health information.  There are many instances where an individual keeps a health condition private, and it only becomes public knowledge after the individual’s death.

Until legislation, it is the burden of each to protect their privacy.  There are many ways to protect privacy online (Consumer Reports, 2017).  Some steps include avoiding free Wi-Fi, locking devices using longer PINs, enabling automatic updates of devices, using a password manager (such as LastPass), and monitoring social media standings (such as group membership and privacy settings).  Many recommendations (such as shredding documents with sensitive data) are not new.  More advanced approaches to ensuring privacy include the use of anonymizing browsers, such as the Tor Browser (Griffith, 2017).

            Privacy is viewed by many as an inalienable right.  If an individual is willing to forfeit that right in exchange for some good or service (such as better movie recommendations) that should be a conscience decision.  As Big Data enables greater value to marketers (and other organizations), there is greater likelihood that the consumer's rights may be compromised.  While executive orders may be an effective short-term solution, legislation should be passed and kept current to protect the rights of the populous.

References

Consumer Reports. (2017). 66 Ways to Protect Your Privacy Right Now.   Retrieved from http://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/66-ways-to-protect-your-privacy-right-now/

Griffith, E. (2017). How to Stay Anonymous Online.   Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363302,00.asp

White House. (2014). Big Data: Seizing opportunities, preserving values (report for the President). Washington DC, USA: Executive Office of the President.[WWW document] http://www. whitehouse. gov/sites/default/files/docs/big_data_privacy_report_may_1_2014. pdf.