The "Dark Side" of Big Data: Private and Public Interaction in Social Surveillance, How data collections by private entities affect governmental social control and how the EU reform on data protection responds

The revolution in social analysis due to Big Data and their predictive capacities poses different questions related to risks of asymmetries in the control over information. In order to have access to this technology and to exploit its power, it is necessary to have the availability of large data sets and to invest heavily in equipment and research. Only governments and big companies have these resources and, consequently, are able to exercise such control over digital information both to enhance their performances and to enhance their control over individuals. Considering the role of government agencies and their increasing requests of information to the private sector for public security purposes, it appears necessary to adopt specific rules in order to regulate the information flow, to define the rights over data and to ensure adequate enforcement. If it is true that information is often publicly available, it is also true that the line between the public and private sphere will become even more blurred in the Big Data era. After a brief introduction (I.) this article first outlines the new scenario of Big Data (II.) before analyzing the governments’ interplay with private entities which crucially enhances their social control (III.). Finally, the currently envisaged changes by the EU reform on data protection are scrutinized in their potential effects on the future of social control (IV.).