In the wake of OfficeMax’s and Bank of America’s recent mishandling of consumer data, Law360 published an article about the pitfalls of big data, including several quotes from Jonathan Ezor. He advises that “Companies should not overly rely on the intelligence of the tools they use. If companies let these tools control their interactions with customers without anyone doing a check, then it can result in a situation that is embarrassing or even worse.” And regarding the White House’s review of big data practices, Ezor says, “The challenge here is whether more law will better protect consumers from abuse and misuse. The White House review provides a way of bringing the key players to the table in a nonadversarial way to gather information about what's happening and if people are unnecessarily worried about the technology.” Ezor also warns companies to be wary of putting too much faith in technical means of “anonymizing” data, because the information can be easily recovered.
Jonathan Ezor Discusses Big Data Challenges