In conjunction with the September 23-24, 2013 meeting of the National Research Council's Board on Research Data and Information, or BRDI,  (which I currently co-chair) the Board will be hosting a public symposium titled Privacy in a Big Data World. I have reproduced the full announcement below. The event is free, but if you want to attend in person you need to register in advance as discussed below; we will also be webcasting the symposium. More detail can also be found here:

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/brdi/PGA_084312

The Board will meet on September 23-24, 2013, and preliminary information about the meeting (which will be updated as the agenda finalizes) can be found at

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/brdi/PGA_084188

(Anyone wanting to attend open parts of the BRDI meeting proper should be in touch with Cheryl Levey or Paul Uhlir at the addresses below. )

I hope that many of you will be able to join us for the symposium, either in person or via the webcast.

Clifford Lynch

Director, CNI

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A Symposium of the Board on Research Data and Information 
(http://www.nationalacademies.org/brdi )
 Monday, September 23, 2013 from 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm 

"Big data" describes the phenomenon of an explosion in quantities of scientific data available for research. The term is also used to describe the vast increase in personal data available in a digital world. The enormous quantities of data are requiring new terms such as exabytes, zettabytes, and yottabytes, new methods of processing and storage, such as cloud computing, and additional broadband. Big data also implies new ways of thinking about data that emphasize their reuse and repurposing, and the recombination and aggregation of data from multiple sources; these are practices that are often in tension with traditional ideas about privacy and anonymity. Such developments offer unprecedented opportunities to realize scientific advances and economic growth - if we can sort out the right balances with privacy, and if legal and regulatory constraints do not become intractable barriers.

Data flow across boundaries for both scientific and commercial uses. There are several international and national efforts to enhance data privacy in a big data world, including revisions in the United States to the OECD 1980 Privacy Guidelines, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, and proposed revisions to the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects. These activities impact access and use of data for a wide variety of research purposes. How can we provide adequate privacy protection for individuals without impeding research and innovation? How do these different regulatory approaches to privacy impact national and transnational research? Has society's perspective on privacy evolved in a digital world, and how may it have to change further in the future?

This Symposium will explore current developments in these areas. The co-chair of the Board on Research Data and Information, Clifford Lynch of the Coalition on Networked Information, will lead the symposium discussion, beginning at 3 p.m. on Monday, September 23. The event will continue for 2 hours in a mix of short presentations and discussion. The entire proceedings will be recorded and an audio-tape will be archived on the Board's website. The meeting will be followed by a reception outside the Lecture Room.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but space is limited and advance registration by no later than noon on September 20 is required (contact: Cheryl Levey, clevey@nas.edu or call 202-334-1531).

The symposium is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.
RSVP by September 20 to Cheryl Levey at clevey@nas.edu

For additional information about the program, please visit http://www.nationalacademies.org/brdi 
or contact Paul Uhlir, the Board Director, at puhlir@nas.edu or 202-334-1531.