Metadata’s core principles have been molded alongside the recent advancements in technology over the years. As Anne Gilliland states in “Setting the Stage”, the increase in the amount of information being shared and created digitally has drastically expanded the importance and widespread use of metadata. What used to be a term only mentioned and understood by cataloging professionals has transformed into a concept known and practiced by all. Metadata is crucial for individuals to effectively locate and access needed information as well as for companies and organizations to archive important information. Attention to detail with regards to the creation of metadata has also become vital in this day and age, tied to this expansion of digitally accessible information.
This digital adaptation that we have seen over the years has also caused controversy. The rights surrounding access to certain metadata have been heavily argued and in a specific case concerning Yahoo, government threats have been discovered (Link to Article). This article covers Yahoo bringing light to a battle between itself and the US government in 2008 regarding the constitutionality of the government’s request of Yahoo’s data. The government threatened Yahoo with heavy fines if they failed to comply with their “surveillance efforts”. Yahoo released the documents associated with their legal dispute to the general public in an attempt to show the extensive effort they went through to keep certain personal data safe that was tied with user information. Yahoo ultimately ended up losing the legal fight and was forced to cooperate with the National Security Agency, granting them access to their information.
This controversial incident expands upon Gilliland’s article as it brings security into the conversation regarding metadata’s increased role over the years. It questions how much regulation should be involved with certain metadata that may include personal information. This is a very delicate issue with technology expanding, as the amount of personal information that is stored and managed online is only going to expand. With the recent security breaches around the web, it is safe to say that no personal information put online is absolutely secure. With this in mind, Gilliland’s question of “how much [metadata] is too much” can be looked at from a different perspective. It raises both questions of how much regulation should be allowed as well as how much personal information should be stored online to begin with. Metadata has been great for the purpose of recording information and making it available to the general public. However, with the always-present possibility of personal information being digitally transferred between organizations as well as recent security breaches, it will be interesting to see if metadata is managed differently in the coming years.
Sources:
“Yahoo was threatened with heavy fines by US government over metadata”. Washington Post. September 11, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/us-threatened-massive-fine-to-force-yahoo-to-release-data/2014/09/11/38a7f69e-39e8-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html
Anne Gilliland, “Setting the Stage,” from Murtha Baca, ed., Introduction to Metadata (Los Angeles: Getty, 2008): http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/intrometadata/setting.html
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