Yes to Big Data, but let’s watch out for Big Brother

It is good news that public agencies in Singapore are exploring the use of up-to-date technologies to sift through the deluge of digital information to find what they need (“Smart mapping, other big-data tools help fight crime”, April 16). The examples cited, such as potential improvements to law-enforcement efforts and tracking of dengue outbreaks, sound promising.

However, such activities can also be viewed as “Big Brother surveillance” as they could intrude unnecessarily on the private affairs of citizens.

I suggest that there be an ombudsman-like body to ensure that public agencies that use such technologies do so within the current legal framework, and that the information gathered is used, and disposed of, responsibly.

The reach of such a body should also extend to private companies — both locally registered and foreign ones operating in Singapore — who use similar methods to gather and analyse large amounts of online data collected here.

In our increasingly wired lives, much of our private affairs — ranging from our phone messages to which surveillance cameras we pass under — could be accessed for the right or wrong reasons. We need to be assured that such smart-mapping and big data tools are used appropriately.