Mexico Eyes Big Data for Public Services, But Regulation Lags
Mexico explores using Big Data to improve public services, from resource allocation to public safety. While the Chamber of Deputies supports tech innovation, concrete regulations for macrodata are lacking.
As governments worldwide grapple with the challenges of digital transformation, the emergence of Big Data—often referred to as macrodata—has become a pivotal development in the realm of public administration. By harnessing the vast volumes of data generated by citizens and their interactions, governments have the potential to revolutionize public service delivery, enhance decision-making, and optimize resource allocation. However, as the benefits of Big Data come into sharper focus, so too do the regulatory and ethical challenges that accompany its use.
Big Data represents a seismic shift in how governments conceptualize the use of digital technologies. As noted by researchers Löfgren and Webster, the advent of macrodata has added a critical dimension to digital governance, offering tools to analyze and predict social trends with unprecedented accuracy. At its core, Big Data is defined by the size, complexity, and speed of the data sets it comprises, which often require advanced computational tools for storage, processing, and analysis. The output of this processing—data analytics—distills massive datasets into actionable insights that can inform policies and improve public services.
