Big data or big (privacy) problem?

Nowadays, almost all of us transfer data (especially personal data) to someone or something (usually through web pages), and we do not precisely know how those data are managed. All of those data, considered altogether, represent what is generally called “Big Data”. Big data offer a big opportunity of growth for probably all human activities, since they make available important data collected in distant places (both in space and time) virtually to everybody who has access to the Internet. On the other hand, big data may also present problems that, if not properly addressed, may yield legal consequences to those who have been implied in data collection, validation, publication and utilization. This paper has covered the most important and, up to now, the most widely considered consequence: privacy. It has also warned that the lack of validation of the posted data and their incautious use may expose liable subjects to legal consequences. To make things even more complex, it has also shown that the potentially liable subjects have not yet been fully identified. Therefore, caution is mandatory when dealing with big data.