NTIA Seeks Comment on Big Data and the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

The US. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is seeking public comment on how developments related to “big data” impact the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The NTIA has issued a Request for Comments on how issues raised by big data impact the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, the Obama Administration’s framework for privacy protections released in February 2012.

The most recent action was called for in the White House’s big data and privacy working group report on how big data is transforming the way we live and work. Counselor to the President John Podesta convened senior government officials, including US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, to conduct the wide-ranging review of big data and privacy, and the group presented its findings to President Obama on May 1.

Specifically, NTIA is seeking comment on:

• How the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights support innovations related to big data while also responding to potential privacy risks;
• Whether the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights should be clarified or modified to better accommodate the benefits or risks of big data;
• Whether a responsible use framework should be used to address the challenges posed by big data; and
• Mechanisms to best address the limits of the “notice and consent” model for privacy protection noted in the big data report.