Why 'anonymised' personal data is actually a broken promise
In short: We are told that our digital identities are protected by anonymisation, yet computer scientists argue this safety is largely an illusion. By cross-referencing supposedly private datasets with other public information, individuals can often be re-identified with startling ease.
The concept of truly anonymous detailed personal data is presented as a fundamental contradiction in the age of big data. While organizations may strip away obvious identifiers like names or social security numbers, the sheer volume and variety of digital breadcrumbs we leave behind make re-identification highly feasible. By matching these fragmented pieces against other public datasets, researchers can reconstruct a person's identity from what was intended to be a private record.
The scale of this data generation is staggering. IBM estimates that 2.5 billion gigabytes of data are created every single day, with over 90% of all global data produced in just the last two years. This includes everything from text and video to equipment monitoring and health records. For instance, a single credit card transaction can generate about 70 distinct items of data. If that purchase occurs online, the trail expands significantly to include browser versions, IP addresses, website navigation history, cookies, and even social media sentiment indicators.
This massive digital footprint is commercially valuable, leading companies to store it indefinitely for various processing purposes. The sheer depth of this collection was highlighted by Austrian law student Max Schrems; after a court decision forced Facebook to release his personal data, they provided him with a 1,200-page PDF. As big data remains a cornerstone of industrial strategy, the tension between commercial utility and individual privacy continues to create significant risks for those who believe anonymisation is a foolproof shield.
The core issue lies in the 'digital trail' resulting from almost every human activity. Because much of this information is transmitted, copied, and stored across multiple platforms, the ability to aggregate these points creates a high-resolution map of personal life that is difficult to erase or truly hide.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Big Data: The Broken Promise of Anonymisation - Professor Martyn Thomas CBE
- Also: Big Data: The Broken Promise of Anonymisation
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