Privacy Groups Seek Public Input on 'Big Data' Report

Some online privacy groups are asking the White House to seek comment on a new study, Big Data and The Future of Privacy, being undertaken as part of the President's announced proposals to address concerns about NSA data collection.

White House advisor John Podesta is meeting with online data privacy groups Feb. 10 to talk about protecting "big data," according to one of the participants.

In conjunction with that meeting, 25 privacy groups sent a letter to the White House office of Science and Technology Policy, which is part of the Executive Office of the President, to say such public comment was needed on the wider issue of data collection generally, including by commercial entities.

"The public should be given the opportunity to contribute to the OSTP’s review of 'Big Data and the Future of Privacy' since it is their information that is being collected and their privacy and their future that is at stake," they said.

The meeting comes a day before the planned Feb. 11 day of protest against mass surveillance backed by Reddit, Mozilla, Demand Progress and others.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.