Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has backed the use of big data to prevent serious crime across the Chinese society.

Ma lent his support during a recent speech on national security.

The timing of Ma's support is crucial, considering that the Chinese government has reportedly just given a go signal on the use of big data for creating a more egalitarian society.

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The thoughts of the Chinese tycoon were stipulated in his speech published on the official WeChat account of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, an agency that polices crime and runs courts across China.

Jack Ma, who is regarded as an iconic billionaire, noted that policing cannot happen without the ability to analyse information on its citizens, while lamenting that China was still behind its global peers in the use of data mining technology.

"Bad guys in a movie are identifiable at first glance, but how can the ones in real life be found?"  Ma said, after making an apparent comparison with Hollywood movie "The Minority Report."

The Steven Spielberg-directed movie was also based on the use of big data.

"In the age of big data, we need to remember that our legal and security system with millions of members will also face change," Ma added. The Alibaba founder also stressed that the future legal and security system cannot remain inseparable from internet and big data.

Ma's speech was televised to around 1.5 million legal and domestic security officials across China, including Meng Jianzhu, the country's top security czar, according to the WeChat post.

Supporting Ma's initiative, Meng said, "Everything is possible in the era of big data."

According to a statement posted on the commission's website.  Authorities must "broaden the vision" and "adapt to modern scientific measures" to make full use of big data when solving cases.

China has been pushing the envelope to collect sensitive data from all of its citizens. It has reportedly given a contract to a well-known defence contractor to develop a software for collecting data on consumption habits and behaviours of citizens to predict terrorist acts.

Additionally, a new anti-terror law that became effective on Jan. 1 allows government to access critical data pertaining to bank accounts and telecommunication.

The issue of whether or not government must use big data, as suggested by Jack Ma, is a highly sensitive issue, as it impinges on the privacy of internet users. The local governments across the world, ave becomhe increasingly adamant on use of big data to counter the threat of terrorist attack.    

TagsJack Ma, Big Data, china, Big Data Analytics