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LILBURN, Ga., Aug 11, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Since America Online posted Internet searches of 658,000 of its subscribers online last week, Thelma Arnold of Lilburn, Ga. has had her life turned upside down.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Internet company's decision to post two months of searches from randomly selected anonymous subscribers on its research site ultimately led The New York Times to the 62-year-old widow.
When Arnold received a call from the paper regarding the matter, she said she was angered at AOL's decision to violate her privacy by posting her reportedly anonymous data.
"It's like someone going into your mailbox, looking at your mail and putting it back." said Arnold. "If someone did that, they would go to jail."
The data had been posted on July 31 by AOL and before being pulled off the site Sunday, it was downloaded and has since been broadcast across the Internet.
"I think the privacy risk is self-evident," said privacy attorney Kevin Bankston. "The only responsible thing to do is for them to not keep this data."
Bankston said the disclosure could open AOL up to civil liability.
Arnold told the Journal-Constitution she has no interest in suing AOL.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
