Month: November 2018

Price, Tom. “Big Data and Privacy.” CQ Researcher, 25 Oct. 2013, pp. 909-32,

library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2013102500.

I think the TED talks and podcast we were assigned for class work last Tuesday will have a large contribution to my paper. I think they had some great points about the basics of what big data is. They also have some points about the positive side of big data like the TED talk that mentions car seats that recognize drivers to reduce theft. I found that most sources are negative towards big data. I also think the reading we printed out will help with my paper. I liked how that reading talked about why the rules aren’t changing. I also found another great source about big data using CQ Researcher. It talks about the pros and cons of big data and the state that big data is at right now. It also talks about the relationship between government and big data. Between these sources, I think I will have a good pool of information to draw sources from.

Many internet users worry about how companies use the information they produce online. One of the biggest issues with this is the companies selling this data. For example, in “Privacy and the Internet,” journalist Ellen Kennerly says “more and more companies are collecting consumer data and sharing it with third parties”(123). The collection and moving of data that Kennerly talks about is a problem because it can lead to huge data breaches. As personal data continues to grow and grow, the more valuable it becomes to people wanting to hack it. Through this information, hackers can find Social Security Numbers, credit card information, passwords, and personal information like addresses and birthdays. Companies are allowed to do this because of relaxed regulation enforced by the government. The government is hesitant to enact laws and regulations because of “the president’s and the  GOP majority’s opposition to additional business regulations”(124). While big data may be of help to us, the way it is allowed to be used and moved is a problem for the security of the users supplying the information.