Ethical Data Mining
June 14, 2009
I’m starting to think about where the line should be drawn when data mining web content, specifically content provided by individuals. I almost said private individuals there, but if you are posting on a publicly visible blog, comments board or whatever, then by definition private is no longer applicable. Or is it ?
What is the difference between government agencies putting together a profile on me from my electronic footprint and me doing it on someone else as part of a scientific research project, or indeed a third party doing it for commercial reasons (thinking of Phorm) ? What are the methodological and ethical differences ? Are there any ?
There are a couple that leap to mind with regards to government responsibilities and accountability, but I’m still thinking about this so no conclusions yet.
