The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee is inviting written submissions to its inquiry into issues relating to Social Media Data and Real Time Analytics. The deadline for submissions is Monday (31 March) but we have spoken with them and they are happy to take submissions by end of 4th April.

The terms of reference of the inquiry are:

  • How can real-time analysis of social media data benefit the UK? What should the Government be doing to maximise these benefits?
  • How does the UK compare to other EU countries in funding for real-time big data research?
  • What are the barriers to implementing real time data analysis? Is the new Government data-capability strategy sufficient to overcome these barriers?
  • What are the ethical concerns of using personal data and how is this data anonymised for research?
  • What impact is the upcoming EU Data Protection Legislation likely to have on access to social media data for research?
  • Is UK legislation surrounding the collection and use of data fit for purpose?

Photo credit: Big Ben, London by Maxwell Summerlee