During a recent European Parliament meeting, Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the parliament said that while a thriving data-driven economy represents an opportunity for growth and employment, big data can also pose significant risks and challenges, particularly as regards fundamental rights, including privacy and data protection. “Some people actually pretend big data is just about statistics based on huge databases. But this is not traditional statistics because at the basis of these databases are individual data that need protection.”
The use of big data is creating lucrative opportunities. By 2017, the big data market is expected to reach €50 billion ($56 billion) and create 3.75 million new jobs.