[Infowarrior] - AOL apologizes for release of user search data

[Richard Forno]

OL apologizes for release of user search data

By Dawn Kawamoto
http://news.com.com/AOL+apologizes+for+release+of+user+search+data/2100-1030
_3-6102793.html

AOL apologized on Monday for releasing search-log data on subscribers that
had been intended for use with AOL's newly launched research site.

The randomly selected data, which focused on 658,000 subscribers and posted
10 days ago, was among the tools intended for use on the recently launched
AOL Research site, according to published reports on various blog sites. But
the Internet giant has since removed the search logs from public view.

"This was a screw up, and we're angry and upset about it. It was an innocent
enough attempt to reach out to the academic community with new research
tools, but it was obviously not appropriately vetted, and if it had been, it
would have been stopped in an instant," AOL, a unit of Time Warner, said in
a statement. "Although there was no personally-identifiable data linked to
these accounts, we're absolutely not defending this. It was a mistake, and
we apologize. We've launched an internal investigation into what happened,
and we are taking steps to ensure that this type of thing never happens
again."

Although AOL had used identification numbers rather than names or user IDs
when listing the search logs, that did not quell concerns of privacy
advocates, who said that anyone among the 658,000 could easily be identified
based on the searches each individual conducted.

"It's reasonably easy for people to see what their neighbors are searching
for, since most people usually google themselves," said Rebecca Jeschke, a
spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The release of the search logs runs counter to a court ruling in March, when
a federal judge rejected efforts by the Department of Justice to gain access
to Google users' search logs. The court, however, determined the Justice
Dept. could have limited access to Google's index of Web sites.

Google was the only search engine to fight the Justice Dept., with Yahoo,
MSN and AOL turning over their users' search data.

"All search engines collect this kind of user data and it's valuable to
marketers, insurance companies, people involved in divorce and custody
battles," Jeschke said. "If this information is available, there is a lot of
temptation to release it."

The search-log data, culled from March to May, represents approximately 1.5
percent of AOL's search network in May. The data applied to only U.S.
searches by AOL subcribers using the company's client software.


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