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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Users identifiable by AOL search data 

An intrepid reporter from the New York Times has provided a vivid illustration that the supposedly de-identified search data released by AOL is not really anonymous.

A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749 - New York Times

Buried in a list of 20 million Web search queries collected by AOL and recently released on the Internet is user No. 4417749. The number was assigned by the company to protect the searcher’s anonymity, but it was not much of a shield.

No. 4417749 conducted hundreds of searches over a three-month period on topics ranging from “numb fingers” to “60 single men” to “dog that urinates on everything.”

And search by search, click by click, the identity of AOL user No. 4417749 became easier to discern. There are queries for “landscapers in Lilburn, Ga,” several people with the last name Arnold and “homes sold in shadow lake subdivision gwinnett county georgia.”

It did not take much investigating to follow that data trail to Thelma Arnold, a 62-year-old widow who lives in Lilburn, Ga., frequently researches her friends’ medical ailments and loves her three dogs. “Those are my searches,” she said, after a reporter read part of the list to her.

What this really illustrates is the risk posed by simply keeping data around. AOL says they keep the data for a month and this particular database was used internally for research to optimize the AOL service. The usual risk to consider is that the data will illicitly go out the back door, but in this case it went out the front door.

Now the cat's out of the bag: Someone has put the database online, allowing you to search the searches (http://www.aolsearchdatabase.com/). Many of the searches reveal sad details about the users and browsing is creepily voyeuristic. Now Thelma's data is out there, along with searches of over six hundred thousand others.

Thanks to Michael Geist for the link.

Labels: ,

8/09/2006 04:41:00 AM  :: (1 comments)  ::  Backlinks
Comments:
OK so you dont know what a search proxy is. Thats OK but if yu dont want to be a victim its time to learn.

Heres a freebie for newbies.

http://www.blackboxsearch.com
 
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