Washington – The Department of Commerce, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), recently sought public comment on how the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights could support the innovation of big data while at the same time responding to its risks. CCIA filed comments on Tuesday, aiming to balance the considerable benefits of innovative big data analysis with evolving privacy norms.
CCIA weighed in on issues from the economic and social benefits of big data research and analysis, to the development of responsible use frameworks for governing how collected data may be used and shared. CCIA’s comments focus principally on the need for privacy frameworks to limit identified harmful uses of big data, rather than the initial collection of the information, which will permit socially beneficial research and serendipitous outcomes.
CCIA acknowledged that big data analysis, for all its potential benefits, has the potential for harmful or discriminatory uses. Ensuring that privacy frameworks are based upon enabling responsible uses of data while restricting harmful uses “would effectively account for the risk of discrimination, while still encouraging uses that are novel and beneficial.”