The class action suit filed Friday in US District Court in Oakland on behalf of three subscribers against AOL under privacy laws because their records of Internet searches were retained by AOL and made public.
" AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc., has apologized for the release, which it blamed on a researcher who had failed to gain proper clearances. The researcher and another AOL employee have been fired, and the company's chief technology officer has resigned. AOL also pledged to name its first chief privacy officer. "
Even though AOL had substituted numeric identifications for subscribers users names, the company acknowledges that search queries in itself might contain personal identification data, revealing names, credit cards and medical conditions.
AOL removed the data once it became aware of the release, however not before copies were already circulating through the Internet.
1 comment:
This is one very positive reason to throw out those ubiquitous AOL discs that come in the mail every now and then.
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