-OpEd-

BUENOS AIRES — Recent actions taken in response to the leaking of Facebook data offer a good opportunity to shed a bit of light on the development of new — and often demonized — data processing and analysis technologies.

Advances made in information management systems from multiple sources offer us resources that, until very recently, were unimaginable. The possibility of using vast quantities of data to identifying groups of individuals that share patterns of behavior has become a precious and strategic supply-side component for many organizations. We must add to this the possibility of integrating various information sources that can contribute to decision-making.

This is where Big Data offers resources that are increasingly important in both business and public administration. In places like Estonia, for example, it is being used to identify fraudulent activities relating to tax evasion or money laundering. In England, Big Data is helping shape plans to redevelop London's public transport.

For obvious reasons, researchers using these technologies must respect the strictest ethical standards. Also, those standards need to be enforced. But we shouldn't start by simply demonizing such technologies with Big Brother references and warnings about their potential for social control. We can criticize Big Data, in other words, and must pay due attention to the possible consequences of its inappropriate use. But we also need to consider its benefits and embrace it.

But we shouldn't think of Big Data as synonymous with illegality, because it's not.

Like in all sectors, polling professionals and market researchers must adhere to ethnical codes and procedures. They're also subject to the scrutiny of various national and international bodies, which set limits on their activities and the tools they use. And that's a good thing. Bodies like WAPOR, which has offices in Buenos Aires, or ESOMAR, a European agency, set basic norms regarding confidentiality in use of information and non-divulgence of the identity of participants in polls or studies. More recently they've updated their rules to encompass the impact of new technologies on research.

Photo: Ecole Polytechnique/Flickr

Certainly, much remains to be done regarding personal data protection and optimization of accountability procedures by organizations handling this mass of information. It's crucial, for example, that users be given necessary assurances in terms of respecting personal identities when it comes to processing or keeping their information, for example through agreement requests.

But we shouldn't think of Big Data as synonymous with illegality, because it's not. To change that perception, we ought to stop with the "to be or not to be" type of debate and instead ask more constructive questions, such as how to develop the technology to meet the demands of new challenges.

*The author is a sociologist, political scientist and market researcher.