Jane Yakowitz on tragedy of the data commons

On the podcast this week, Jane Yakowitz, a visiting assistant professor at Brooklyn Law School, discusses her new paper about data anonymization and privacy regulation, Tragedy of the Data Commons. Citing privacy concerns, legal scholars and privacy advocates have recently called for tighter restrictions on the collection and dissemination of public research data. Yakowitz first explains why these concerns are overblown, arguing that scholars have misinterpreted the risks of anonymized data sets. She then discusses the social value of the data commons, noting the many useful studies that likely wouldn't have been possible without a data commons. She finally suggests why the data commons is undervalued, citing disparate reactions to similar statistical releases by OkCupid and Facebook, and offers a few policy recommendations for the data commons.

Related Links


Tragedy of the Data Commons, by Yakowitz
Broken Promises of Privacy: Responding to the Surprising Failure of Anonymization, by Paul Ohm
"Race and Romance: An Uneven Playing Field for Black Women," Freakonomics
"Facebook digs through user data and graphs U.S. happiness," LA Times
"Ok Trends: Dating Research from Ok Cupid"
"Jane Yakowitz on How Privacy Regulation Threatens Research & Knowledge," by Adam Thierer

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