ABSTRACT
The benefits of Big Data touch almost every aspect of digitized life: entertainment, academia, health, commercial enterprise, and governmental operations. However, with its breadth of reach comes greater exposure to risk and litigation. Significantly, the issue of privacy in the context of mass digitized information is relatively new. For a period of time, the public was enthralled with the benefits of the personal computer, the Internet, and personal mobile devices that made access to information available at literally a touch of a button. The conveniences provided by these technological advances distracted attention away from the realities of how those conveniences were provided, that is, via the collection, analysis, and distribution of data. However, as the public became more educated in how the new technological world worked, it became more concerned with how personal information was retained and distributed. Indeed, public awareness has been further heightened by various scandals, such as the recent revelations regarding the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) use of digitized information, which in turn has spawned further privacy litigation. Big Data (as distinct from the issue of privacy alone) is a relatively recent evolution of the use of data. It is therefore likely that, with increased public awareness of Big Data and its uses, there will be new legal challenges and litigation focused on individual privacy rights and the principles of transparency, notice, access, and choice in the context of Big Data.
