Big Data – Big Problem? The FTC Recommends The US Congress Reign In Data Brokers

Big Data is the term used to describe the enormous datasets that are beyond the ability of most software to process. Statistical analysis of these giant data sets can allow the holder to predict baseball outcomes (think Moneyball), pregnancy and, apparently, the stock market.

These enormous data sets however, are made up of data pertaining to individuals and the data brokers who amass these data sets have been less than forthcoming about the personal information they hold, raising privacy concerns.

This is the conclusion of a U.S. Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") report last week which found "data brokers operate with a fundamental lack of transparency". The FTC recommended that Congress consider enacting legislation to make data broker practices more visible to consumers and to give consumers greater control over the immense amounts of personal information collected about them and shared by data brokers.