Big data isn’t just the domain of the NSA. Corporations mine information about customers online to do everything from targeted marketing to fundraising. This kind of information harvesting is intertwined with the way we use the internet today, and the White House wants to find out more about how citizens feel about how their information is collected. A brief new national survey asks who you trust with your data, what types of information you prefer to keep private, and more about privacy online.
The survey’s part of review being led by a counselor to President Obama at the request of the commander in chief. In addition to the survey, the White House is working with experts, think tanks and other institutions. By the time the review is completed by the end of April, the hope is that the report “anticipates future technological trends and frames the key questions that the collection, availability, and use of ‘big data’ raise – both for our government, and the nation as a whole.” That’s high hopes, but it can’t hurt to let the government know how you feel about privacy today — especially in light of the NSA’s comprehensive data collection practices.
Hope this writer from the left-leaning The Verge didn’t strain his neck while turning a blind eye to the fact that the president’s “signature legislation” is one of the biggest private data collectors/invaders out there. And as we pointed out yesterday, they’re still not very good at protecting it.
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