Big Data Knows What You're Doing Right Now

http://moneyland.time.com/2012/07/31/big-data-knows-what-youre-doing-right-now/

A handful of companies are making big bucks by aggregating tiny scraps of information about you and putting the puzzle pieces together to build your digital profile. The two co-chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus and six other Congress members have sent a letter to nine of these companies collecting this personal data asking “where they get their data, how they slice and dice it, and to whom they sell and share it.”

The article further states that “after we give our information away, we have no idea what companies do with it. Unlike credit reporting agencies, which are required to let you see the composite picture of you they’ve created with the data they mine and organize, data companies keep their vast virtual warehouses under lock and key.”           

It was also interesting how the article talks about information as currency. Personal information can be used to sell you stuff. A company can target you by figuring out whichever ad may sway you based on personal information collected.  Lawmakers and privacy experts worry about the accuracy of this personal information, which is something that was also discussed in my peer-reviewed journal I read. Individuals have no idea what marketers and other interested parties see and how they’re judging us.