
This initiative was introduced at the tail end of the President’s outlining of numerous sweeping reforms to US intelligence programs, including the NSA. Considering the timing, some people question whether this program is a long-awaited Executive acknowledgment of the privacy risks of big data, or simply a ploy to distract the nation from the NSA controversy. Others welcome the attention and believe that, in addition to the anticipated improvement of consumer privacy, these expanded efforts to deal with big data will contribute to the creation of millions of IT jobs globally. Meanwhile, various groups have been petitioning to encourage the “meaningful public participation in the development of this important policy,” insisting that the public “should be given the opportunity to contribute to the…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.” With about 60 days remaining to Podesta’s timeline, it will be interesting to see if and how this review will take into account the input of all stakeholders.