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<strong>in</strong>formati<strong>on</strong> can then be used to create customised user profiles, based <strong>on</strong> their past <strong>on</strong>l<strong>in</strong>e<br />

behaviour, which has the benefit of reduc<strong>in</strong>g the time required to complete a transacti<strong>on</strong>. For<br />

<strong>in</strong>stance, e-commerce websites track previous purchases, use algorithms to predict what sorts<br />

of items a user is likely to buy, thereby reduc<strong>in</strong>g the time spent <strong>on</strong> each purchase. 13<br />

There are a large number of benefits to be ga<strong>in</strong>ed by collect<strong>in</strong>g and analys<strong>in</strong>g pers<strong>on</strong>al <strong>data</strong><br />

from <strong>in</strong>dividuals. Pooled <strong>data</strong>sets allow quicker detecti<strong>on</strong> of trends and accurate target<strong>in</strong>g. For<br />

<strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> the healthcare sector, by collect<strong>in</strong>g and analys<strong>in</strong>g large <strong>data</strong> sets of <strong>in</strong>dividual‘s<br />

health records and previous hospital visits, health care providers could make diagnostic<br />

predicti<strong>on</strong>s and treatment suggesti<strong>on</strong>s; 14 an <strong>in</strong>dividual‘s pers<strong>on</strong>al locati<strong>on</strong>al <strong>data</strong> could be<br />

used for m<strong>on</strong>itor<strong>in</strong>g traffic and improv<strong>in</strong>g driv<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> the road; 15 banks can use Big<br />

Data techniques to improve fraud detecti<strong>on</strong>; 16 <strong>in</strong>surers can make the process of apply<strong>in</strong>g for<br />

<strong>in</strong>surance easier by us<strong>in</strong>g valuable knowledge gleaned from pooled <strong>data</strong>sets. 17<br />

At the same time, the state processes pers<strong>on</strong>al <strong>data</strong> for a plethora of purposes, and is arguably<br />

its largest processor. In India, the state uses pers<strong>on</strong>al <strong>data</strong> for purposes such as the targeted<br />

delivery of social welfare benefits, effective plann<strong>in</strong>g and implementati<strong>on</strong> of government<br />

schemes, counter-terrorism operati<strong>on</strong>s, etc. Such collecti<strong>on</strong> and use of <strong>data</strong> is usually backed<br />

by law, though <strong>in</strong> the c<strong>on</strong>text of counter-terrorism and <strong>in</strong>telligence gather<strong>in</strong>g, it appears not to<br />

be the case. 18<br />

Thus both the public and the private sector are collect<strong>in</strong>g and us<strong>in</strong>g pers<strong>on</strong>al <strong>data</strong> at an<br />

unprecedented scale and for multifarious purposes. While <strong>data</strong> can be put to beneficial use,<br />

the unregulated and arbitrary use of <strong>data</strong>, especially pers<strong>on</strong>al <strong>data</strong>, has raised c<strong>on</strong>cerns<br />

regard<strong>in</strong>g the privacy and aut<strong>on</strong>omy of an <strong>in</strong>dividual. Some of the c<strong>on</strong>cerns relate to<br />

13 For an illustrative example, see Greg L<strong>in</strong>den et al., ‗Amaz<strong>on</strong>.com Recommendati<strong>on</strong>s: Item to Item<br />

Collaborative Filter<strong>in</strong>g‘, University of Maryland: Department of Computer Science, available at:<br />

https://www.cs.umd.edu/~samir/498/Amaz<strong>on</strong>-Recommendati<strong>on</strong>s.pdf (last accessed 5 November 2017).<br />

14 Clemens Suter-Crazzolara, ‗Big Data And The Journey To Pers<strong>on</strong>alized Medic<strong>in</strong>e‘, Forbes (17 November<br />

2015), available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2015/11/17/big-<strong>data</strong>-and-the-journey-to-pers<strong>on</strong>alizedmedic<strong>in</strong>e/#7865d751b0ee,<br />

(last accessed 20 November 2017).<br />

15 Matthew Sparks, ‗GPS Big Data: mak<strong>in</strong>g cities safer for cyclists‘, The Telegraph (9 May 2014), available at:<br />

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10818956/GPS-big-<strong>data</strong>-mak<strong>in</strong>g-cities-safer-for-cyclists.html, (last<br />

accessed 5 November 2017).<br />

16 Jacomo Corbo et al., ‗Apply<strong>in</strong>g analytics <strong>in</strong> f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>s‘ fight aga<strong>in</strong>st fraud', McK<strong>in</strong>sey and<br />

Company (April 2017), available at:https://www.mck<strong>in</strong>sey.com/bus<strong>in</strong>ess-functi<strong>on</strong>s/mck<strong>in</strong>sey-analytics/our<strong>in</strong>sights/apply<strong>in</strong>g-analytics-<strong>in</strong>-f<strong>in</strong>ancial-<strong>in</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>s-fight-aga<strong>in</strong>st-fraud,<br />

(last accessed 5 November 2017).<br />

17 Informati<strong>on</strong> Commissi<strong>on</strong>er‘s Office (UK), ‗Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Mach<strong>in</strong>e Learn<strong>in</strong>g and Data<br />

Protecti<strong>on</strong>‘, available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisati<strong>on</strong>s/guide-to-<strong>data</strong>-protecti<strong>on</strong>/big-<strong>data</strong>/ (last accessed 31<br />

October 2017).<br />

18 Press Informati<strong>on</strong> Bureau, ‗Home m<strong>in</strong>ister proposes radical restructur<strong>in</strong>g of security architecture‘, M<strong>in</strong>istry of<br />

Home Affairs, Government of India (23 December 2009), available at<br />

http://pib.nic.<strong>in</strong>/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=56395 (last accessed 5 November 2017); Press Informati<strong>on</strong><br />

Bureau, ‗Centralised System to M<strong>on</strong>itor Communicati<strong>on</strong>s‘, M<strong>in</strong>istry of Communicati<strong>on</strong>s, Government of India<br />

(26 November 2009), available at http://pib.nic.<strong>in</strong>/newsite/Pr<strong>in</strong>tRelease.aspx?relid=54679 (last accessed 16<br />

November 2017); Udbhav Tiwari, ‗The Design and Technology beh<strong>in</strong>d India‘s Surveillance Programme‘,<br />

Centre for Internet & Society, India (20 January 2017), available at https://cis-<strong>in</strong>dia.org/<strong>in</strong>ternetgovernance/blog/the-design-technology-beh<strong>in</strong>d-<strong>in</strong>dia2019s-surveillance-programmes<br />

(last accessed 16<br />

November 2017).<br />

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