MPs' 'Big Data Dilemma' inquiry was obsolete before it even began

It's too late for the Science & Technology Committee to examine the potential risk of big data because big data is already big business

The government is just now thinking about big data, a task that would have made sense around five years ago. They may as well launch an investigation into the Newcomen Steam Engine while they're at it.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee - the parliamentary group of 11 MPs which exists "to ensure that government policy and decision-making are based on good scientific and engineering advice and evidence" - recently launched an inquiry into the opportunities and risks of "big data" that goes under the title ‘The big data dilemma'.

The Science and Technology Committee is set to examine "whether the government is doing enough to ensure that UK entrepreneurs can benefit from the data revolution" while also "looking at issues around data protection and privacy".

"Growth in computing power continues at a remarkable pace, bringing enormous economic and social opportunities as new public and private services are developed using 'big data' sets. But there are also growing public concerns about the collection, use and sale of personal data," said Nicola Blackwood MP, chair of the Science and Technology Committee, on the launch of the inquiry.

"This inquiry will be weighing up how we can open up opportunities in big data for entrepreneurs, while ensuring that consumers feel their private data is protected," she continued.

"Questions remain about how companies obtain consent for the use of personal data and whether the governance of our new information economy is keeping pace with the technology," Blackwood added.

The select committee is now accepting written submissions on big data and the issues around it until 3rd September in order to gather evidence for the inquiry.

However, there's a problem here in that the committee is already far too late when it comes to assessing the opportunities and risks; the cat is already out of the bag and big data is widely used in industry.

Just look at the language used in the documentation surrounding the launch of the inquiry. Much like Dr Evil not understanding that "lasers" aren't new technology, the repeated inverted commas around "big data" make it appear as if the Science and Technology Committee believe big data to be a brand new thing when that's far from the case.

A search of the Computing archives shows that big data's first appearance on these pages was in 1998, although it only emerged in the way we define it now in 2011.

That was over four years ago and in the time since big data has gone from an interesting new concept for IT departments to something which is almost essential to the workings of organisations ranging from The National Trust and insurance firm AXA, to Gatwick Airport as they attempt to better understand their customers.

Therefore it's not exactly reassuring for MPs to be approaching big data, a technology that is already widely used by corporations across the globe, as if it's a brand new concept.

Perhaps that isn't really surprising, because as David Davis MP has previously suggested, most MPs don't know much about technology or the internet.

"The average age of MPs is in their forties and most of them think they're being very clever if they go on Twitter. They don't understand much about the [technology] mechanisms they are dealing with," he said.

And it's all well and good that the inquiry is set to examine the privacy implications of big data, but that's a task very much rooted in 2008. Technology giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon are already hoovering up every single bit of data they can about users, and have been doing it more or less without any restrictions for many years.

Yes, a user could opt out of using their services because they don't feel comfortable about giving up their personal data to a private corporation, but in today's hyper-connected world they almost don't have a choice about using these if they want to remain part of it.

Also, data brokers like Acxiom are huge consumers and traders of big data, including much personal information - and hands up if you've even heard of them, let alone chosen to opt out.

Indeed, there are some instances where you don't have any choice whatsoever about your data being collected for mass analysis and the government isn't exactly concerned about it; because as Edward Snowden revealed, it's GCHQ itself which is secretly hoovering up communications data of UK citizens for mass data analysis.

There are certainly privacy implications around that, but no doubt they'll be ignored in the interests of national security - especially as Prime Minister David Cameron is keen to introduce more means of government collecting citizen's private communications data.

Back to the Science and Technology Committee - aside from the deadline for submitting information, there's no schedule outlining how the committee plans to use this data or eventually present it in a report. Given the slow, archaic nature of parliamentary procedure the report isn't likely to appear at any point in the near future.

By that time, big data will have moved forward again and the inquiry will already be out of date. Perhaps in future, parliament could try to pre-empt technological trends instead of constantly playing catch-up to the latest developments.

On that note, a committee investigation into the Internet of Things is already overdue, so I'd advise them to jump on that and wearables now, before both concepts are considered slightly old hat.