Big Data Creates Big Problems Organizations Mandating Data Minimization Efforts

A mountain of personal data might be appetizing to some organizations, but other companies see that same trove as a security and regulatory risk. In turn, many organizations are proactively implementing data minimization policies, according to the “Big Data is Dead! Yet ‘Small’ Data Isn’t Ready for Primetime” survey, sponsored by the Coalition of Technology Resources for Lawyers (CTRL) in partnership with Osterman Research and Relativity. More than half (58%) of the 19 North American organizations surveyed said they have a corporate mandate to minimize the retention of personal data. Still, “data minimization” can mean different things to different companies.  Most respondents (70%) defined such efforts as “stopping the collection of data that isn’t necessary to the fulfillment of specific business objectives,” while 64% also said they entailed “stopping the retention of data that isn’t being used by the organization for legitimate business purposes. In addition, around half (51%) said such efforts meant “deleting redundant, obsolete or trivial data.