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AOL Exposes Users

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Posted on Aug 8, 2006

America Online recently released the search queries of more than 650,000 of its users for ?research? purposes.  The data contained three months’ worth of searches that were attached to unique user IDs.  No names were included with the release, but private information was easily gleaned from some of the queries.  Although AOL has since removed the information and apologized for its release, calling it a ?screw up,? copies continue to circulate around the Internet.


C|Net:

Based on the number of local searches, AOL user 1515830 appears to be a resident of Ohio’s Mahoning County. On March 1, user 1515830 was trying to find the amount of calories in chai tea and bananas. But on March 9, the searches took a darker turn:
chai tea calories
calories in bananas
aftermath of incest
how to tell your family you’re a victim of incest
pottery barn
curtains
surgical help for depression
oakland raiders comforter set
can you adopt after a suicide attempt
who is not allowed to adopt
i hate men
medication to enhance female desire
jobs in denver colorado
teaching positions in denver colorado
how long will the swelling last after my tummy tuck
divorce laws in ohio
free remote keyloggers
baked macaroni and cheese with sour cream
how to deal with anger
teaching jobs with the denver school system
marriage counseling tips
anti psychotic drugs

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By rabblerowzer, August 9, 2006 at 4:54 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

America Online recently released the search queries of more than 650,000 of its users for “research” purposes.

I’ll bet the following sentence is a lot closer to the truth.

America Online recently SOLD the search queries of more than 650,000 of its users for “research” purposes.

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By Mad As Hell, August 9, 2006 at 3:41 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

The sad thing is that this is nothing new with AOL.  Every couple of years, this SAME issue crops up with AOL: They view their customers’ information as a commodity they want to sell.

Then they get caught, it makes the news, AOL apologizes and promises not to do it again…and when the hub-bub dies down goes back to it.

The first time in happened, that I remember, was in the mid-90’s, around 1995.  The day they bought Compuserve, in 1997 was the day I cancelled my Compuserve account—that very day.  I cancelled it because AOL had already been shown to be selling private, confidential information on its customers to advertisers.

This is why I will not use AOL, this is why I recommend people not use AOL, and this is why I throw away all the AOL offers—I know, sooner or later, AOL will violate my confidentiality.  If I use AIM, I ALWAYS assume it is NOT private and AOL may use what they see on it. 

It’s sad that the only trust you can have for AOL is that they WILL violate your privacy, sooner or later.

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