[Air-l] ethics - aol data

[burkx006 at umn.edu]

On Aug 29 2006, Jeremy Hunsinger wrote:

>> I'm a little unclear as to Jeremy's referent here; specifically, what
>> "property" he is talking about. If he is talking about the data, I  
>> would
>> rather vigorously oppose characterizing it in that manner. If he is  
>> talking
>> about the hardware/software on which the data resides, then we need to
>> distinguish between ownership/control/use of the "property"  
>> carrying the
>> information, and ownership/control/use of the information itself.  
>> Google
>> and AOL may have a proprietary interest in one, but not necessarily  
>> the
>> other.
>>
[snippage]
>
>here i was talking about the data, which they collected and  
>redistributed and the search logs specifically.  I think that data is  
>pretty much their property.  

Property is a word that has to be used very carefully -- I'm not sure that 
the data can be called their property in any formal sense. It cannot (with 
a couple of caveats) be the subject matter of patent or copyright. It might 
be the subject of trade secrecy if it gives AOL or Google a "business 
advantage" but that isn't really a property right -- it just prevents 
misappropriation of the data.

Maybe what you are asserting is that AOL or Google has a the ability to 
keep the data physically secluded from access. This is essentially the same 
issue as in the "trespass to computers" cases. But that is subject to a 
bunch of outside claims (by the users, by the state) and doesn't confer any 
actual rights in the data. For example, I don't think that AOL has any 
ability to control use of the data they accidentally released.

>it is like all computer logs in my  
>mind.  do the users of a webserver own the logs or does the owner of  
>the webserver?  

Well, ownership and control of the log (a compilation) is a different 
question than ownership and control of the indivdual data elements.

>in the case of medical or dental records, you clearly  
>have a claim to your personal data, but... in the case of search  
>logs, i don't think the user of a system really has much of a claim.

I am speaking at IASTED Law/Tech on a version such claims in the context of 
"fantasy sports" data representations: 
http://www.iasted.org/conferences/keynote-545.html

Annamaria Carusi at Oxford has been doing some interesting work on the 
ethical basis for such claims: 
http://www.anvendtetikk.ntnu.no/ecap06/program/Carusi.doc
 
>if they give up personal information to the system, that seems very  
>much like giving it away to me, more of a caveat emptor for services  
>rendered.  is aol the owner of the data or the caretaker of data?   
>that's a good question.

The idea of a bailment is appealing.

-- 
Dan L. Burk
Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly Professor
University of Minnesota Law School
229 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN  55455
**********************************
voice: 612-626-8726
fax: 612-625-2011
bits: burkx006 at umn.edu