UPDATED 19:01 EDT / JUNE 18 2013

Abhishek Mehta Discusses the Concept of Data Ownership

The controversy around the NSA’s recently exposed surveillance program has triggered an important public debate about user privacy and Big Data transparency, according to Tresata founder Abhishek Mehta. He provided his take on these two topics in a Q&A session with SiliconAngle NewsDesk host Kristin Feledy.

In Mehta’s view, the discussion around the positive applications of Big Data is hollow if user privacy is not being addressed. Individuals and organizations need to know who owns their data, who has access to it, and what can be done with it. He stresses that it’s impossible to argue for or against PRISM or any other application of Big Data without thinking through these issues.

Feledy asks Mehta to elaborate on the concept of data ownership. He provide his definition, which he says is one of several. The way Mehta sees it, big tech firms possess ‘pools’ of user data. Amazon is the “purchasing cloud of information,” Facebook is the “social cloud of information,” and so on. Consumers entrust these companies with their data, but they don’t necessarily know who owns it, and more importantly, they can’t access all of it from one place because the technology required to do so is not yet available. Much of this also applies to private organizations, which generate large amounts of sensitive information that can easily fall into the hands of third parties.

Mehta believes that in time, these isolated pools of user information will collapse into one another. He views this trend positively, but stresses that Big Data can be a source of both good and evil. PRISM is not the first or last large-scale privacy violation, he notes, but the incident will help raise public and industry awareness about user privacy.

To see the full discussion, check out the NewsDesk video below.

 


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.

  • 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more
  • 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network.
About SiliconANGLE Media
SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.

Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.