The White House has released a big report on big data. The 79-page report outlines policy recommendations for the use of personal data in the commercial, education and health-care sectors, said Jo-Ellyn Sakowitz Klein and Francine Friedman of Akin Gump. The report was requested by the president himself, who asked for a study to “examine how big data will transform the way we live and work and alter the relationships between government, citizens, businesses and consumers.”
Klein and Friedman say the report starts by discussing how both public and private entities can make use of big data and minimize its risks. It then goes on to discuss key questions for the development of a policy framework, such as how it alters the consumer landscape and how to protect people from discrimination enabled by this new technology.
“Although the report does not create binding law, it provides insight into the administration’s priorities on a wide range of privacy and security issues, from government surveillance to data breaches,” said Jeff Kosseff of Covington & Burling. He outlines some of the key themes emerging from the report: data use vs. data collection, notice and consent, predictive analytics, and law enforcement and digital discrimination.
Other takeaways include the educational component of big data. Kosseff said the report recognizes the “tremendous opportunities for innovative approaches to education,” but warns schools have to ensure the information gathered is not misused. The working group preparing the report also “sharply criticizes data brokers,” said Kosseff, drawing on the fact they’re unregulated, yet their information is often used in the same way as data in regulated industries. And last, but most definitely not least, the report calls for a uniform national data breach notification law, he says.
The study was led by John Podesta, White House counselor; along with John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Jeffrey Zients, director of the National Economic Council; U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Penny Pritzker; and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
Attorney Marlisse Silver Sweeney is a freelance writer based in Vancouver. MarlisseSilverSweeney@gmail.com. Twitter: @MarlisseSS. LTN: @lawtechnews.
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