Press Room

Sebastopol, CA—Much of what constitutes Big Data is information about us. Through our online activities, we leave an easy-to-follow trail of digital footprints that reveal who we are, what we buy, where we go, and much more. This eye-opening book explores the raging privacy debate over the use of personal data, with one undeniable conclusion: once data's been collected, we have absolutely no control over who uses it or how it is used.

"The days of Internet anonymity are over," says Mary Ludloff, who shares her Twitter handle (@bigdatapbi) with coauthor Terence Craig for reasons that become increasingly obvious the more you read Privacy and Big Data (O'Reilly Media, $19.99 USD).

"Wherever you go, whatever you do, anywhere in this world, some device is tracking and collecting information about you," Ludloff continues. "Our personal information is now a multi-billion dollar business."

Personal data is the hottest commodity on the market today—truly more valuable than gold. We are the asset that every company, industry, non-profit, and government wants. Privacy and Big Data introduces you to the players in the personal data game, and explains the stark differences in how the U.S., Europe, and the rest of the world approach the privacy issue.

You'll learn about:

• Collectors: social networking titans that collect, share, and sell user data
• Users: marketing organizations, government agencies, and many others
• Data markets: companies that aggregate and sell datasets to anyone
• Regulators: governments with one policy for commercial data use, and another for providing security

Craig adds, "Just like pirated movies, your private information is part of a worldwide shadow economy worth billions of dollars. The Internet is like Vegas: what you do there stays there—forever. If you want to keep something private, keep it off the net."