Big data and personal data protection: the main theoretical and practical issues of legal regulation

The paper analyzes the application of Russian legis-lation on personal data protection in the context of big data development. The study reveals the con-cept of big data, describes the genesis and benefits of this technology, and examines big data distribu-tion analytics in various sectors of the economy. The research identifies that the opportunities gener-ated by big data are in direct conflict with interna-tional principles of personal data protection and call into question the effectiveness and adequacy of the current Russian legislation on personal data. The author considers whether depersonalized data are personal. The researcher concludes that it is neces-sary to rethink such categories as personal data, anonymized data, and personal data processor with-in the framework of Russian laws.