On November 9, the Big Data Working Group, organized by the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ with the support of the Internet Development Institute, held its first open meeting. The discussion covered areas of the group’s activity, current objectives and timeline.
The working group also announced the establishment of various specialized sub-groups. Each sub-group will begin its specific research, including development of a common big data glossary, identification of the data subject to big data processing and access levels, and secure big data storage and transfer. Other sub-groups will be started in due course at the following meetings. Sergei Kopylov, Deputy Director for Legal Affairs at the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ and head of the working group, noted that this cooperation format had proved its efficiency. “We have managed to involve experts from very different areas, including telecommunications, advertising, e-commerce, and banking. We identified the main areas of work and expect the outcome to be as close to the industry’s real needs as possible.”
German Klimenko, Russian Presidential Advisor and Board Chairman of the Internet Development Institute, said that the working group’s main objective is to develop a common industry approach. “Our main goal is to agree on common terms that various participants will be using in communication. It is extremely important that rules of the game are developed through involvement of those who will eventually be working with big data.”
Alexei Sokolov, Russian Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media, mentioned various types of data handled and noted that not many of them need to be regulated by the personal data law. These include personal data, the so-called depersonalized data, and the information that will eventually be generated by the Internet of Things. The deputy minister noted that the term “data subject” does not exactly apply in the latter case. Therefore, major efforts should be made to figure out new approaches to regulating such data.
Coordination Center Director Andrey Vorobyev said that domain name registrars and registries are getting more involved in resolving these issues. They are also crucial for the internet addressing system. As an example, he recalled a discussion at ICANN 57 in Hyderabad. “Domain name registries and registrars are direct participants in the regulation of both personal data and big data. ICANN discussed storage of information on domain name administrators and Whois service work as well as data escrow and EBERO (Emergency Back-End Registry Operator for top-level domains). The main issue for the domain market participants is discrepancy between ICANN requirements and national legislation of their jurisdictions,” he said.
The Big Data Working Group was established following a meeting with Presidential Advisor German Klimenko. Its main goal is to develop proposals on the industry’s self-regulation and, if necessary, legislative control of big data.
