White House Seeking Input For Its Big Data Review

By David Bruggeman
March 12, 2014

Following on the announcement in January that the White House would be reviewing Big Data and its influence on privacy and the economy, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has been seeking input from the public and other stakeholders.  The office has already co-sponsored two conferences on big data.  The first was at MIT last week and the next is scheduled for March 17 at New York University.  Another event will take place at Berkeley later this year.

OSTP released a Request for Information (RIF) last week on how big data can influence privacy, the economy and other aspects of public policy.  Comments must be submitted by March 31, and must be fewer than 7,500 words.

The questions in the RFI are organized around a few broad themes:

  • The public policy implications of the collection, storage, use and analysis of big data
  • What areas of big data could benefit from additional government research or support?
  • Technology trends that may influence big data
  • How should government big data be treated differently from private sector big data?
  • Cross-jurisdiction issues prompted by big data

OSTP considers big data to mean “datasets so large, diverse, and/or complex, that conventional technologies cannot adequately capture, store, or analyze them.”

Responses are due by March 31.  Consult the Federal Register notice for instructions on how to submit your comments.