The New York Times reports that the State of Indiana is considering selling their major toll road to a private company (a Spanish-Australian partnership) that would operate the toll road for a profit for the next 75 years. The privatization…
Tag: Data Aggregation
More Links on DOJ v. Google
Here are more good analyses of the DOJ/Google spat:John Batelle thinks (correctly, IMO) this is more about Google protecting trade secrets than its users' privacy.Dan Solove has two important posts related to the broader issues of commerical data aggregation (and…
NYT Editorial on DOJ & Google
This New York Times editorial gets it right about what's really at stake with the DOJ v. Google case:...Protecting minors from the nastier material on the Internet is a valid goal; the courts have asked the government to test whether…
Data Collection for Traffic Avoidance Systems
Technology Review has a new article on traffic avoidance systems, focusing on the software firm Inrix, who is working towards better methods of forecasting traffic congestion "hours and even days in advance." Its interesting stuff, but this passage is somewhat…
iTunes Now Asks for Consent Before Collecting Data
Following up on the earlier story about the new Apple iTunes MiniStore feature that collects and sends user data to Apple, Cory Doctorow reports that iTunes now asks for explicit user consent before activating this feature: The MiniStore was switched…
Read More iTunes Now Asks for Consent Before Collecting Data
Schneier on Security: Data Mining and Amazon Wishlists
Bruce Schneier points to an amazing article by Tom Owad, "Data Mining 101: Finding Subversives with Amazon Wishlists". In it, Owad reveals how simple it can be to use data mining techniques to profile people based on their public Amazon…
Read More Schneier on Security: Data Mining and Amazon Wishlists
Your Identity, Open to All
This Wired News article features a frightening interview with the owners of a privacy-threatening search engine Zaba Search [I'm not going to encourage its use by providing a link]. Zaba Search allows users to uncover an individual's personal information -…
ChoicePoint to Allow People Access, but Questions Remain
The AP is reporting that ChoicePoint will allow consumers to access and review their personal information on file with the data aggregation company. "You will receive the reports that we have on you," Don McGuffey, the firm's vice president for…
Read More ChoicePoint to Allow People Access, but Questions Remain
Online Shopping Cart Company Fined For Selling User Data
TechDirt reports that an online shopping cart company has been fined by the FTC for selling user data to telemarketers and junk mailers without permission. Apparently, even if the website used to purchase something has a privacy policy and "opt…
Read More Online Shopping Cart Company Fined For Selling User Data
ChoicePoint to give up some personal data sales
Finally, an encouraging development from the ChoicePoint fiasco. InfoWorld reports that ChoicePoint will stop selling sensitive consumer data to many of its customers, except when that data helps complete a consumer transaction or helps government or law enforcement. Perhaps an…
MichaelZimmer.org 
You must be logged in to post a comment.