Obstacles to Big Data

 

Information and communications technology (ICT) industry experts point out that the Personal Information Protection Act is hindering the development of the big data industry and creation of new business opportunities.

According to the act, personal information is defined as information relating to living individuals and enabling personal identification such as names, national registration numbers, and images. Also, it stipulates that any person engaged in the handling of personal information has to handle such data only within an appropriate range.

Industry insiders are saying that nothing has been clarified by the act as to the scope of personal information and the handling of it. “Besides, very strict regulations for personal information protection are mentioned also in the Medical Act and the Information & Communications Network Act, to make it difficult to promote the big data industry,” one of them explained.

In the meantime, foreign IT leaders like Amazon and Google are creating huge added value by utilizing big data. Their Korean counterparts are failing to catch up with the trend due to the lack of awareness and system obstacles. According to the Korea Communications Agency, the global big data market is estimated to reach US$16.9 billion in size in 2015 and US$32.4 billion in 2017.

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