The Brennan Center for Justice submitted comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) about public policy and civil liberty concerns surrounding the use of big data and datamining in counterterrorism. On March 4, 2014, OSTP issued a request for public comment “on the ways in which big data may impact privacy, the economy, and public policy.” This request is part of the OSTP’s comprehensive review of how ‘big data’ will affect how Americans live and work lead by John Podesta.
The Brennan Center’s comments address the following issues:
- Public policy implications of the collection, storage, analysis, and use of big data;
- Uses of big data that raise significant public policy concerns; and
- Distinctions between policy frameworks for use of big data by different sectors—specifically, by counterterrorism—focused and other national security agencies