Big Data and NSA Surveillance -- Survey of Technology and Legal Issues

As technology for data storage and computing enhances on a new dimension, real world evidence based decision has become possible, and a new concept called "Big Data" has emerged. Leaders for Big Data technology development are mainly national security and medical field due to their urgent need of decision based on big data. Recent revelation of collection and analysis activities of National Security Agency (NSA) that cover massive data corresponding to the area of people's privacy triggered much controversy about concerns for infringing privacy and violation of constitutional rights. This, in turn, became opportunity of producing various analysis and opinions about the current level of big data technology, future possibility, types of work that big data has enabled, and technological and legal means for preventing expected abuse. The purposes of this paper are surveying materials about legal issues regarding NSA's activity with big data, and organizing feedbacks collected from various sources of the society.