Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: FTC holds workshop on economic consequences of “Big Data”, (Sep 15, 2014)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez kicked off an agency workshop today on how the government and the private sector can work to ensure that “big data” can be a tool for economic inclusion, not exclusion.

Four separate panels assessed current big data practices in the private sector, discussed possible developments on the horizon, presented pertinent research, and offered potential ways to ensure that big data is a force for economic inclusion. The program was intended to shine a light on the benefits and risks for low-income and underserved populations resulting from the collection and classification of mountains of data generated from smartphones, social media, retail loyalty cards and other connected devices. “While powerful algorithms can unlock value from immense datasets, their ability to draw correlations and make fine-grained distinctions also raises the prospect of differential treatment of low-income and underserved populations,” Ramirez said.

In her opening remarks, Ramirez explained that big data “has the capacity to save lives, improve education, enhance government services, increase marketplace efficiency, and boost economic productivity.” However, she also noted that it also “has the capacity to reinforce disadvantages faced by low-income and underserved communities.”

As for the benefits of big data, Ramirez cited an effort in New York City to develop a tool that combines eviction data with emergency shelter admission information and other data to predict when individuals or families are on the brink of homelessness. Ramirez also offered a real-world example of possible risks. She pointed to a study conducted by Latanya Sweeney, the Commission’s Chief Technologist, finding that web searches for distinctively black names were 25 percent more likely to produce an ad suggesting the person had an arrest record, regardless of whether that person had actually been arrested, than web searches for distinctively white names.

Ramirez identified three objectives moving forward: (1) identify areas where big data practices might violate existing law, as well as any gaps in current law and ways to fill them; (2) build awareness of the potential for big data practices to have a detrimental impact on low-income and underserved populations; and (3) encourage businesses to guard against bias or disparate impact on low-income and vulnerable populations when designing their analytics systems, algorithms, and predictive products.

“[I]t is the responsibility of the FTC and others to help ensure that we maximize the power of big data for its capacity for good while identifying and minimizing the risks it presents,” Ramirez said. “As we navigate the transformative terrain of big data, it is vital that we work to ensure that technological innovation benefits all consumers, whatever their backgrounds.”

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