Big changes are ahead this year for big data.

Later this year, the European Union's data protection package is expected to be finalized and member states will have a “harmonized' data protection laws in place.” Some say it will create the toughest regulations of governing data collection while others welcome the sweeping changes. The legislation is expected to have wide-ranging implications for both businesses and consumers but the regulation has not been without controversy especially scathing opinions of it by the tech world. One section in particular that has garnered the ire of the technology industry including a proposal that would including levying fines of as much as $136 million against technology companies for privacy violations when they process EU citizens' data.

The draft of the EU law contains about 90 articles regulating data privacy and protection, according to data.informed.com, based on the proposition that control of individual, personal data is a fundamental human right, and includes the right to consent, the right to access, and the “right to be forgotten,” within limits.