AOL made a huge mistake this morning; coming on the heels of Sony shooting itself in the foot with its spyware, I am puzzled by just what AOL was thinking.
AOL breached the wall between my data and their data. They "helpfully" installed a "bot" in my AOL Instant Messenger Buddy List, and then used that bot to install two new contacts: one to propose shopping tips, and the other to let me select movies. AOL cheerfully noted that if I wasn't interested in the new additions to my list, I could simply delete them.
Big mistake. That was my list, not AOL's. They've violated my personal space. By doing this they've demonstrated that my data — my list of contacts — can be tampered with at their whim. I have to wonder what comes next? Can my lists be sold, or mined for more data? Will they find out if my buddies purchase something online and then market that thing to me, on the assumption that I share mutual tastes? Just what is AOL doing with my data?
Then there's the security implications. They've established the precedent in people's minds that occasionally new contacts will show up in your list, unannounced. I have no doubt that evildoers will find a way to use that concept to promote their usual thievery and mischief.
In my book I talk about the battle for your address book — how industries view your list of contacts, and how they would prefer that your list be on systems they control. If I cannot trust the company not to tamper with my address book, I can scarcely trust them to have the information in the first place.
Topics: · business · security · trust
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