big data ICT
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http://www.dcsuk.info/n/vpmg
Big Data: dealing with the legal issues
Recent developments in processing power and cloud computing means that the technology is now available, at low cost, to quickly analyse multiple sets of data from various disparate sources and in different formats and structures, in order to identify and predict future trends. By Richard Nicholas, Partner, Technology team, Browne Jacobson.
THE ABILITY TO ANALYSE this “big” data is likely to be the single biggest differentiator between competing businesses in the coming years.
There have been plenty of applications of it in use already, whether it be:
£ supermarkets analysing future Met Office forecasts to decide on lines of clothing to stock (potentially months in advance),
£ police forces analysing crime reports so as to deploy officers to sites at times when crimes are most likely to occur; or
£ investment banks seeking to identify the likely reaction of world markets to future
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events and to identify market trends. Services that make use of “big data” are clearly very much in demand, not just by IT or marketing departments, but also in the board room as a key strategic tool for making sure customer needs are being met. There are some legal challenges however for those seeking to rely on big data:
The challenges
Those who would make use of the big promises that big data offers however would be wise to consider the legal position in respect of the data they gather. Technology won’t respect individual rights, but ignorance of those rights won’t be enough to defend a claim or avoid a fine.
Avoiding data protection breaches – the limits of anonymity
Much of the promise of big data relates to the use of information about people, whether it’s their shopping habits, Facebook profiles, DNA or medical records. In detecting trends it may not be necessary to identify the individuals who contributed the data. Surely then the answer would be to anonymise the data, so that individual names are not captured, wouldn’t it?
Sadly, recent case law suggests that it’s not so simple. Even if those collecting data are not linking it to any given individuals or are not aware of the individuals that submitted there may still be a breach of data protection
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