White House asks, “Tell Us What You Think About Big Data and Privacy”

John Podesta, Counselor to the President, writes on the White House blog:

In January, President Obama charged me with leading a review of big data and privacy that considers how these technologies are affecting Americans’ lives and workplaces, shaping citizens’ relationship with the government and changing the way companies do business.

Since then, we have heard from industry leaders and technologists, civil society organizations and international regulators, academic researchers and privacy and civil liberties advocates about how big data is changing our society and economy. We’ve co-hosted workshops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at New York University, and will be building on those conversations in another event at the University of California at Berkeley in early April.

We are listening to the experts, and we want to hear from you.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy already released a formal Request for Information seeking comments from the public. But we want to make it even easier for you to participate in this important process.

Go to WhiteHouse.gov/Big-Data to share your views on big data and privacy. Who do you trust with your data? What data-collection technologies give you pause? How are data and new technologies transforming your day-to-day life?

Your responses will inform our final report, which we will deliver to the President next month. The big data privacy review ends next month. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.