ETHICS OF USING AOL SEARCH DATA

Nate Anderson of Ars Technica has written an article about the ethics of researchers using AOL data that was released and then recalled when AOL discovered that individual user's identities could be uncovered with it. His article appears at http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060823-7578.html.

In his article, Anderson quotes me as saying the responsibility of ensuring the privacy of users falls on AOL, but that researchers who use the information are in the clear if they don't use it to uncover individual identities.

There is space to comment on Anderson's article if you click on "discuss" at the end of the piece.