Big data and new, emerging analytics capabilities hold great promise for government, from the ability of agencies to operate more efficiently to providing more timely, personalized services to citizens.
But with the unprecedented amount of data that government agencies and private organizations are collecting about average Americans come very real dangers to personal privacy and liberty. Where is the line between big data as a service and big data as an intrusive tool for big government and big business?
MeriTalk explored these and other questions surrounding the ethical use of big data at the Big Data Brainstorm, held Nov. 19 in Washington, D.C. Less than a week after the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris?attacks that once again raised questions about the role of big data in national security?the Big Data Brainstorm featured the first live debate on the topic of the ethical use of big data.
The debate featured Stewart Baker, a partner at Steptoe and Johnson LLP and the former general counsel at the National Security Agency, and Marc Rotenberg, the president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
Big Data Brainstorm Debate 2015