How Private Are Sites’ Membership Lists?
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007Slashdot contributor Bennett Haselton has written an essay on a subtle privacy issue affecting many websites (including Slashdot!) He says “Suppose your girlfriend called up Match.com and said, “I think my boyfriend might be cheating on me. His e-mail address is joeblow - at - aol - dot - com. Can you tell me if he’s a member?” And Match.com phone support told her, “Why, yes, he is a member. You’d better have a talk with him.” After you had gotten over the guilt of getting caught — I mean, the guilt of cheating — would you not feel like Match.com had violated your privacy by telling a third party that you were a member?” Keep reading to see what he’s getting at and to decide if and when it’s a problem.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.