In the world of “big data” lots of data is good, but more data is best. Companies conduct research, develop concepts and products, secure grants and obtain funding, and sell, sell, sell, building a large and continuing customer base. Information equates to power and money, but ethical sourcing and usage of that information should not be compromised. At the core of the data that businesses use are people – the information originally belongs to someone. How businesses source, maintain, use, and disclose data has a direct impact on the individuals whose information is being collected and used.
Federal, state, and international governments are passing data privacy and security regulations at a fast pace, seemingly all seeing a need to control data flow and individual privacy. Unfortunately, the continued passage of numerous regulations has made the world of data collection and usage more complex and unwieldy and is often without any real consideration of already existing laws and the effects of multiple layers of competing rules and regulations. Is the data any more secure and private with hundreds of regulations confusing the landscape? Is patient information any safer in the hands of agencies that are overly burdened with regulations governing what can and cannot be collected, used, and shared? Entities may now be just as concerned with trying to navigate the complex regulatory world as they are with securing the data in the first instance. The threat and reality of fines and penalties does not solve the problem of data security and privacy, and in many circumstances can divert dwindling resources from where it is better served and needed. Over-regulation is NOT the answer. Read more >
