White House Big Data Review to Focus on Private Sector, Possibly Fourth Amendment Applications
There were more process details Monday but few hints about the Obama administration’s big data and privacy stance at the first of three daylong workshops held as part of the White House’s 90-day big data review. Counselor to the President John Podesta clarified that the review would not focus on the intelligence community’s big data programs, specifically the metadata collection programs authorized under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Those programs were the focus of the six-month review President Barack Obama outlined in a January speech (CD Jan 21 p1) and a “review is ongoing” by the Department of Justice and intelligence community, Podesta said during the event, webcast from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
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Instead, “we want to explore whether there’s something truly new in the vast collection of data and lightning-speed analytics,” Podesta said. The group’s next workshop -- March 17 at New York University -- will examine the social, cultural and ethical implications of data collection, he said. The final workshop -- April 1 at University of California-Berkeley -- will tackle the legal and policy issues, said Podesta. The administration will also launch a public engagement program this week, posting a video that asks the public to submit answers to the questions, “What technologies are most transformative in your life?” and “What gives you the most pause?” Podesta said.
In his January speech, Obama tasked Podesta with leading a review of whether the U.S. policy framework could adequately address the rise of data collection and analysis (CD Jan 24 p9). Podesta said Monday “my hope is this inquiry will anticipate future trends … and develop a work plan to address them,” possibly through new policy recommendations. The White House issued its consumer bill of rights in February 2012 with a proposal for baseline privacy legislation (CD Dec 2 p1). But that proposal is already up for review, Podesta said. The report will explore whether the bill of rights “fully addresses the big data revolution,” he said.
The technology of big data was Monday’s main theme. Podesta highlighted what he called beneficial big data projects: the National Institutes of Health mapping dozens of cancer types using large genomic datasets; the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center combining data science with cognitive learning to develop new math and science curricula for grade school students. In many cases, Podesta said, researchers might benefit from sensitive data such as demographic information. But they must also weigh the privacy concerns of using such personal information, he said.
Such conundrums speak to the need for “a more sophisticated understanding” of privacy, said Daniel Weitzner, principal research scientist at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. “We may be able to protect personal information completely in some cases but in other cases we're going to have to allow its use,” he said. Historically, he said, privacy has been binary -- either someone has access to another’s data, or not. A privacy definition centered on how systems use various information types is more nuanced, beneficial and applicable to the current technological landscape, he said. From there, the tech community and government should focus on creating “accountability in the way that personal information is used,” he said. The tech community can construct ways to look inside systems and generate reports on how it is using data; the government can develop principles for judging those reports, said Weitzner, former U.S. deputy chief technology officer for Internet policy in the Obama administration.
Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said “all of this potential hinges on one thing -- trust.” Pritzker spoke to the business advantages of big data, citing companies like data storage company EMC, cloud services company Akamai, energy data analyst EnerNOC and BigBelly Solar, which uses remote monitors to determine when its solar-powered trash bins are full. Pritzker encouraged businesses to help “establish principles and policies that encourage and protect trust among all stakeholders.” But she acknowledged industry hesitation in engaging those efforts. Podesta said he met with German officials Friday to discuss the relationship between the government and businesses. “The Europeans, and Germans in particular, have different views on this topic,” he said, while assuring their input would be included in the report.
The report might challenge current Fourth Amendment applications to businesses holding data, Podesta said. The Supreme Court has said there’s no expectation of privacy when third parties hold records, Weitzner said. Podesta said new technologies examined in the report may speak to the need for different interpretations of Fourth Amendment jurisdiction. “Hopefully in 90 days we'll have something more specific to say about what our conclusions are with respect to the issues,” Podesta said. Weitzner thinks the administration has already tipped its hand by admitting it considers some of the data collected under the Section 215 programs to be sensitive information. In that admission, the White House was “sending a very subtle message that says, ‘We need to update our application of the Fourth Amendment and the First Amendment to this environment,'” he said.