BALANCING ACT: BIG DATA, PRIVACY AND SECURITY

As the Bay Area Council prepares for its May 19 advocacy trip to D.C. that will focus in large part on cyber security and related issues, the Obama Administration yesterday released a report of a special Big Data and Privacy Working Group convened by the President in January to examine the implications of proliferating Internet traffic and use of information.

The report – Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values — attempts to bring together perspectives from privacy advocates, technologists, consumers and many other stakeholder groups. Among many issues touched upon, the Working Group aimed to maintain a clear view of the private enterprise building around uses of Big Data, from improving understanding of healthcare treatment decisions to applications in public sector infrastructure and the smart grid.

The report comes against a backdrop of competing visions of national data breach legislation, including a draft bill announced this week by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Saxby Chambliss to clarify the rules of the road for information sharing, especially with regard to industry concerns over liability. Many business groups, including the Bay Area Council, would agree that a national data breach standard would simplify a complex regulatory matrix.

The Council’s planned meetings in D.C. include visits with the Obama Administration and several authors of related bills in Congress (and their staff), where Council members will have an opportunity to express their views, concerns and goals for certainty in the potential new rules surrounding data security.

To engage in the Council’s cybersecurity initiative, contact Senior Advisor Matt Gardner. To participate in the Council’s D.C. advocacy trip from May 19-21, contact Policy Associate Brianne Riley.