This morning I spoke at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on “Responsible Data Uses: Benefits to Consumers, Businesses and the Economy.” In preparing for the event, I dusted off some old working notes for speeches I had delivered at other events about privacy policy and “big data” and expanded them a bit to account for recent policy developments. For what it’s worth, I figured I would post those notes here. (I apologize about the informality but I never write out my speeches, I just work from bullet points.)
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Benefits of “Big Data”
- “big data” has numerous micro- and macroeconomic benefits
- Micro benefits:
- data aggregation of all varieties has powerful social and economic benefits that are sometimes invisible to consumers and citizens but are nonetheless enjoyed by them
- big data can positively impact the 3 key micro variables – quality, quantity & price – and benefit consumers / citizens in the process
- Macro benefits:
- Data is the lifeblood of the information economy and it has an increasing bearing on the global competitiveness of companies and countries
- In the old days, when we talked about comparative and competitive advantage, the focus was on natural resources, labor, and capital.
- Today, we increasingly talk about another variable: information
- Data is increasing one of the most important resources that can benefit economic growth, innovation, and the competitive advantage of firms and nations.
Privacy Concerns
- of course, “big data” also raises big privacy concerns for many groups and individuals
- this has led to calls for regulatory action and virtually all levels of government – federal, state, local, and international – are considering expanded controls on data collection and aggregation
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.