HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
HOUSING PRECOGS: BIG DATA PREDICTIONS BEYOND HEURISTIC HUNCHES
BEWARE OF THE TECHLASH
Users should be in control of when and if they receive information to make best use of their time. It should be easy for users to specify appropriate use of their information including controlling the use of email they send.” “We’ve never believed that these detailed profiles of people — that has incredibly deep personal information that is patched together from several sources — should exist,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking on MSNBC. He added that “privacy to us is a human right.” Today privacy is making a comeback – in Europe. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is scheduled to go into effect across the EU in late May and it may impact the privacy debate here. “Users will have greater control, including the ability to learn what information companies have on them,” reports The Hill. “The GDPR will also codify what’s known as ‘the right to be forgotten,’ meaning consumers will be able to order web services to delete their data or stop distributing it to third parties. The rules will also require companies to give users the ability to easily revoke consent for handing over personal information.” The GDPR shows that a practical privacy standard is possible, a concept which may gain traction in the U.S. if the public tires of intrusive data collection efforts. Regulation In the same way that credit reports are no longer accorded the status of state secrets, data controls may soon become far more accessible to consumers. The Facebook Russia debacle, the Equifax credit breach involving almost 148 million accounts, the loss of as many as 1 billion Yahoo user database files, and the collection of data from children all suggest that regulation — what is allowed and what isn’t — is an emerging issue. Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has stated in congressional testimony that it’s “inevitable that there will need to be some regulation.” “No federal law spells out what companies trading in personal information can do with user data,” says Axios. “No federal agency has clear jurisdiction over writing rules for Internet companies. And public concern about personal data falling into the wrong hands has only recently swelled.” “U.S. adults,” says the Pew Research Center, “are roughly twice as likely to express worry (72 percent) as enthusiasm (33 percent) about a future in which robots and computers are capable of doing many jobs that are currently done by humans.” If data regulation is inevitable, if it can get past First Amendment arguments, then it’s likely that new rules will make data collection more transparent. Some collection efforts will be restricted or prohibited. Consumers could have a bill of rights which allows them to see and correct data (think of credit reports). Maybe a “do not data” list will evolve. One thing is certain: with more regulation the cost of data will increase. At the same time we may see a shift from today’s standard. Now you can opt out but only if you can find who’s collecting data in the first place. In the future there may be a requirement that consumers must opt in before data can be collected. Errors As much as artificial intelligence and predictive modeling get things right such systems can produce unwanted results. As an example, a CNN investigation found that “ads from over 300 companies and organizations — including tech giants, major retailers, newspapers and government agencies — ran on YouTube channels promoting white nationalists, Nazis, pedophilia, conspiracy theories and North Korean propaganda.” Security The Internet and computers have more security holes than electronic Swiss cheese. Viruses, malware, worms, Trojan horses and hackers are lurking everywhere, sometimes in the employment of foreign governments. “More than 317 million new pieces of malware — computer viruses or other malicious software — were created last year,” reported CNN in 2015. “That means nearly one million new threats were released each day.” But, right now, that’s not the case.
Juniper Research predicts that 5 billion personal data records will be stolen in 2020, up from 2.8 billion last year.
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MAY 2018 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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