[Air-l] AOL Releases Search Logs from 500,000 Users

[Wojciech Gryc]

While we're considering how ethical it is to use this data,

Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Kevin Bankston considers the
publication of the pseudonymized search logs to be a violation of the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, arguing that the search terms are
content under federal law and that the law doesn't distinguish between
identifiable and non-identifiable communications.

That law carries a minimum statutory damages of $1000 per person, which, if
Bankston is right, would put AOL on the hook for $658 million minimum, even
if it didn't violate its own privacy policy.


From: http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/#1535018

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any more information about EFF's or
Bankston's views on the matter.

Thanks,
Wojciech

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