Privacy and Big Data

Chapter 3. The Regulators

The Internet has no geographic boundaries. For the most part, its data flows freely. However, just because there are no are no boundaries, it does not necessarily follow that all countries allow the data to flow unchecked. For example, several countries block access to YouTube. China, known for having the most advanced and extensive filtering systems, blocks access to any site that contains keywords, such as “democracy” and “human rights.”^[17] There is an increasingly alarming trend towards just-in-time Internet blocking where users are prevented access to information at key political inflection points, such as elections or times of social unrest, where the websites of opposition parties, the media, Twitter, and Facebook are blocked as illustrated by the recent Middle East and North African protests. Sometime Internet access is blocked completely, as demonstrated in Egypt where the government was able bring the Internet and cell phone service down.

While the Internet is global, the way we govern and do business is not. We operate as countries or regions and our businesses may be limited to one city or town or may reach around the globe. What one country or region enacts in “the name of privacy,” is felt around the world. So, how do countries regulate the collection, use, and protection of their citizen’s personal information?

If you live in the U.S., you might argue that very little regulation is going on, pointing to RapLeaf’s questionable use of data mining, ...