Paranoia in the age of AOL

jmiller · #1 (**permalink**) 08-15-2006, 12:10 PM

the information collected by big web companies and search engines is eerie...and the classic "if it falls into the wrong hands" echoes in my head a bit.

another AOL-type leak would be devastating to privacy.

congress has sidelined the issue of whether companies like Google should be required to purge personal data after a certain amount of time.

what do you think?

paranoia here.

kevan · #2 (**permalink**) 08-15-2006, 06:23 PM

Yes, you are most probably right - but big brother is with us all around. And if it produces the right results in catching people using the internet [or whatever] for the wrong reasons - then so be it.
I won't go into specifics, but I am sure there is already an internet police force checking emails and searches for terrorist material, child porn etc etc.
I don't have a problem with this.
Kevan

**mike** · #3 (**permalink**) 08-16-2006, 01:50 AM

Data Valdez. Amazing story.

Looks like Calacanis has made his position clear enough.

What really gets me about the this thing is how they went from "intentionally released" to “This was a screw up”.

"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."
-Andrew Weinstein
AOL Spokesman

YTMND indeed.

By all means, maybe let's get that whole 'vetted' policy looked at again too, you think?

It occurs to me now though, maybe I'm too hasty to judge? I have done things in my life that have been -perhaps, not entirely appropriately vetted. Inappropriate vettage can lead to all kinds of embrassing situations - it's another way of saying 'why you get thrown out of places'.

It's a little known fact but sufficient vettitude is actually one of the leading causes of accidents with power tools in North America. Always importand for things to be 'appropriately vetted'. I'm for that, of course. But I can understand.

We've all been there at some point. 'Let him without sin cast the first... blog (or whatever)' and all that right?

**incrediblehelp** · #4 (**permalink**) 08-21-2006, 08:03 PM

Well AOL found some scapegoats.