Aug

9

Names, named

August 9, 2006 | Leave a Comment

New AOL Privacy Leak

GREAT CARTOON from bLaugh, The (Un)Official Comic of the Blogoshpere. A day in the rather messy life of AOL. On the subject of which …

So now have a face and a name to put to the number 4417749 and everyone’s trumpeting how easy it was to uncover. I get the point. I really do. But where does that leave the poor woman whose identity and personal life is now all over every other blog and news site courtesy of AOL and the New York Times? And once a name is in the public domain, every pundit, dick and harry can publish it. Yes, including b.

To be fair, Thelma Arnold agreed to speak to NYT reporters, chose to confirm that a list of searches was in fact hers, gave permission for her photo to be used — and expressed shock at the revelation that someone was “looking over my shoulder.” The last begs the question: does Ms Arnold realise the extent to which her story is being covered on the net? That her life might change forever?

But hey — let’s be glass-half-full about this. Perhaps Thelma Arnold is willing to be named and scrutinized for the sake of the greater good. Maybe she will become an heroic frontwoman for the (inevitable) class action suit against AOL. May the Force be with her. In the meantime: what did you search for today?


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