Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Opening government data to private sector could yield $3T annually: Commissioner Ohlhausen, (Jul 23, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen is promoting open access to government data, noting that it has the global potential to create more than $3 trillion in value annually. In opening remarks delivered at the Center for Data Innovation’s panel discussion, “The Social Impact of Open Data,” in Washington, D.C. today, Commissioner Ohlhausen outlined three steps the FTC can take to facilitate more open government data.

Big data benefits the public. In setting the stage for open government data, Ohlhausen first discussed how modern data analysis techniques, or “big data,” are exceptionally useful tools. Big data techniques may be used to extract knowledge from data, so that we may “better understand ourselves and the world around us.” Benefits the public is already seeing from big data techniques include: (1) customized user recommendations from online merchants, like Amazon, Netflix, and e-Bay; (2) commuting time predictions, achieved by the compilation of millions of GPS signals; (3) identifying potential causes of diseases; and (4) detecting and preventing credit card fraud.

Open government data. As government is and has been a major producer of personal, societal, and scientific data, Ohlhausen proposes that opening access to such data could provide tremendous benefit to the public. “The private sector could use the wide range of government-produced data to reveal new insights into difficult problems in nearly every area of human endeavor,” she said. Positive examples of how the private sector already uses government data include: weather forecast models, which are built from raw data and models provided by the National Weather Service; investment analysis from government financial, agricultural, and economic reports when making decisions; and product marketing strategies based on a plethora of demographic, geographic, and other data to market products and prevent fraud.

Three steps to facilitate open data. To promote useful access to government data, Commissioner Ohlhausen first noted that the FTC should “adopt and promote a realistic view of big data,” which includes a fundamental understanding of the strengths and shortcomings of big data, as well as the need for human judgment in the use of such tools.

Second, the Commissioner suggested that the FTC provide guidance on how to protect the privacy of individuals while also promoting open data. “Applying big data techniques to government health data or education records could help address the most pressing societal issues we face, but people understandably worry about how such information is used and shared,” she said. However, aggregation, de-identification, use-based limitations, and other techniques could be utilized to protect privacy, while opening access to data in a positive and meaningful manner.

In her third suggestion, Ohlhausen proposed that through “a humble regulatory approach” to the data industry, the FTC can help create “a government, industry, and consumer culture that embraces open data and innovative data analysis.” Specifically, she suggested that the Commission “focus its enforcement efforts on bad actors actually causing substantial consumer harm,” which could encourage consumer confidence in new technologies, while allowing innovation to flourish.

“Allowing consumers to easily access the information the government has about them could also promote consumer interest in and acceptance of open data more generally,” Ohlhausen stated. “I urge government agencies to explore how they could achieve more transparency about the data they hold on individuals.”

News: Privacy FederalTradeCommissionNews