White House looks at how 'Big Data' can discriminate

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks before presenting the Commander-in-Chief Trophy to the United States Naval Academy football team in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington April 18, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is preparing to release a report next week that will outline concerns that current U.S. privacy laws and regulations do not do enough to protect consumers from potential discrimination due to "big data" algorithms that crunch through information gathered online, a White House official said on Saturday.

The review, led by President Barack Obama's senior counsellor, John Podesta, was sparked by the revelations last year of former spy contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information about how the National Spy Agency uses big data analytics methods for surveillance.