The Collision between Big Data and Privacy Law

Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Volume 2 Number 3, October 2014

15 Pages Posted: 12 Jan 2015

Date Written: August 31, 2014

Abstract

We live in an age where billionaires are self-made on the back of the most intangible of assets – the information they have about us. The digital economy is awash with data. It's a new and endlessly re-usable raw material, increasingly left behind by ordinary people going about their lives online. Many information businesses proceed on the basis that raw data is up for grabs; if an entrepreneur is clever enough to find a new vein of it, they can feel entitled to tap it in any way they like. However, some tacit assumptions underpinning today's digital business models are naive. Conventional data protection laws, older than the Internet, limit how Personal Information is allowed to flow. These laws turn out to be surprisingly powerful in the face of Big Data and the Internet of Things. On the other hand, orthodox privacy management was not framed for new Personal Information being synthesised tomorrow from raw data collected today. This paper seeks to bridge a conceptual gap between data analytics and privacy, and sets out extended Privacy Principles to better deal with Big Data.

Keywords: Privacy, Big Data, Internet of Things, Data Analytics, Data Protection

Suggested Citation

Wilson, Stephen, The Collision between Big Data and Privacy Law (August 31, 2014). Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Volume 2 Number 3, October 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2548079

Stephen Wilson (Contact Author)

Lockstep Consulting Pty Ltd ( email )

11 Minnesota Ave
Five Dock, NSW 2046
Australia

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