Big Data a Boon for Repressive Governments

Big data opens wonderful benefits for companies and organizations, but it’s also proving to be a boon for dictators and repressive governments.
According to an article on Forbes:

Every rose has its thorns, as they say, and so for every beneficial use of big data that exists, there is the reverse, a frightening opportunity for an unscrupulous person, group, or government to use that data against us.

 Take, for example, predictive policing.  In February 2014, the Chicago Police Department sent uniformed officers to make “custom notification” visits to individuals whom they had identified, using a computer generated list, as likely to commit a crime in the future. The police department wasn’t arresting people; rather, it was attempting to provide things like job training and placement services, drug rehab programs, counselling, and other services in order to prevent future crimes.