Cory Doctorow’s Daily Curated Links

In 2006, AOL released a dataset of 20 million anonymized search queries from around 650,000 users, mistakenly exposing personal information that led to user de-anonymization. This incident sparked discussions on the challenges of data de-identification, revealing that even minimal data can compromise anonymity. Despite documented risks, companies continue selling vast amounts of data, often putting user privacy at risk. Examples include Strava inadvertently revealing military locations and Facebook’s “Beacon” project exposing user activity across partnered sites. Facebook’s mishandling led to lawsuits and promises of reform that were later broken. Recent technology, including Meta’s AI chatbot, has also eroded privacy by publishing sensitive user queries. While solutions like “trusted research environments” may help, the risks remain high as companies frequently prioritize profit over privacy, often disregarding lessons learned from past mistakes. The ongoing struggle between user privacy and corporate data practices highlights a troubling trend in technology.

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