Slashdot Mirror
Data Mining Amazon.com Wish Lists
Dr. Webster writes "In his article "Data Mining 101: Finding Subversives with Amazon Wishlists," Tom Owad of Applefritter outlines a way in which one could build detailed personal profiles of hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens in a matter of hours. Reading habits, personal tastes and even political party affiliation could be inferred from the results, and through the use of Yahoo! People and Google Maps, one could even map out geographically where people with certain interests or affiliations live, down to their address. Most surprisingly, the process of doing this is completely legal, and doesn't even violate Amazon's Conditions of Use."
Mining voluntary information on a public website? Come back and tell us when you can mine the info as easily from say real amazon sales records of what I actually did buy not what I might want the public to think I am buying.
Breaking news! People conducting surveys report other people freely giving away personal information! That could be an article from http://www.theonion.com/. Shocking. Call it a "wishlist" not a "voluntary survey about what you like" and it's an amazing invasion of privacy.
7h3$3 4r3n'7 7h3 Ðr01Ð$ ¥0 4r3 £00|{1n9 f0r. M0v3 4£0n9. --OB1
So THAT'S why I'm on the no-fly list
i was gonna say the same thing, I'm really for people's rights online (i'm like insane about freedom of speech and stuff if you ask my friends), but I honestly dont see what people expect. If you put information online for the public, this is what happens, no conspiracy, no illegal or suspicious activity. This information is voluntarily released for up for grabs, if people want to use it for that I dont see a problem.
Actually, if you had read the article, you would have seen that Mr. Owad does not reference "invasion of privacy" at all. What he does do is help people understand how information they share online can be used to create a general profile, and even to link them to others. The point of the article is to educate people. But, like others, you were probably just going on the snippet... I mean, why read the whole story when you can see the headlines via RSS, right?
... elipses...
...that I know freely subscribe to Amazon.com wish lists. They are like "lets overthrow the government that wants to jail us" but they are also all over "Lets let everyone know how we feel about corparations and the government by making wish lists that not only incriminate us but play into the hands of the very corporate droogs we hate... makes sense right." Anyone thinking they will get useful information about truly dangerous groups from Google Maps or Amazon Wish Lists needs to take a breather and sit down for a minute.
Did you RTFA?
He maps out (using google maps) the locations of the people who read certain books.
A lot of these wishlists have a city, state, full name and birthdate attached to them... which is more than enough for google to give you a street address (though not always with 100% accuracy)
Just to test it, i randomly picked a 'sarah' who had a wishlist. Turns out there's only one Sarah Johnson in Portland, OR.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
From the article:
On a final note, the FBI is now hiring computer scientists to implement a project that sounds very similar to what I just did:
"Currently, the FBI is strengthening systems engineering in order to tie new systems together architecturally and ensure that standards for custom and packaged applications are enforced, and it needs engineers to accomplish this goal, the agency said.
(etc...)
Where does he read data mining into this? I read that the FBI wants to update their computers to make their databases better. Their databases.
This article strikes me as scare mongering, and until I hear that the government plans on breaking the knuckles of people who read Aldous Huxley, I don't care about what's merely possible.
Even his crude filtering techniques can yield worthwhile leads for police/FBI. He says that the first result for bible is "The Cannabis Grow Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing Marijuana for Recreational and Medical Use".
Is it so hard to imagine that a certain fraction of people with that book on their wishlist may either be growing weed, or have it in their possesion? Or that a percentage of people 'wishing' for the Improvised Munitions Handbook (printed by our favorite Uncle Sam @ the DoD) aren't chemists or demolitionists?
/doesn't have an Amazon wishlist and never will
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Profile for Jaish al Ashurah ] Wishlist
Wishlist
This list is for: Jaish Al Ashurah
Birthday: None Entered
Shipping Address: Private
Unique Facts: A shadu la ilaha illah Allah
Total items: 10
"The Anarchist's Cookbook" by William Powell
"Improvised Explosives: How To Make Your Own" by Seymour Lecker
"Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual For Military And Police Snipers" by John Plaster
"Crusades Through Arab Eyes" by Amin Maalouf
"The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion With Preface and Explanatory Notes" by Sergius Nilus, Henry Ford, and Victor E. Marsden.
"Explosive Dusts: Advanced Improvised Explosives" by Seymour Lecker
"Creative Cloth Doll Making: New Approaches for Using Fibers, Beads, Dyes, And Other Exciting Techniques" by Patti Medaris Culea.
"The Tragedy of Karbala" by M.A. Naquvi
"51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration With the Nazis" by Lenni Brenner
"How to Build a Nuclear Bomb: And Other Weapons Of Mass Destruction" by Frank Barbaby
South Park pokes fun at sacred cows to make a point. Family guy pokes cows to hear them moo.
In my county in NC, if you want a party affiliation all you need to do is look it up on the public records website:f m
http://www.co.durham.nc.us/common/PublRecordsdB.c
You can also figure out how much someone's house is worth, what they paid in taxes, etc.
It starts to get a little scary though when your search for public records reveals mortage applications with the individual's SS# listed on the sheet. All available online, and provided for by your very own government!
Next time you see a recommendation like that, you can click the "Why was I recommended this?" link under it and then uncheck the "Use this for recommendations" checkbox by the items that you don't want to be used as sources for your recommendations. Alternatively, you can go into "Your Store" through the tabs at the top and then go to the Improve Your Recommendations section and find the items and uncheck the same checkbox.
a) I only want to share my wish list with people I trust;
b) I only want to share certain sublists with certain people.
They do! Go to "edit wishlist" and the second item after you name the list is "This list will be viweable by:" and it gives three choices: "Anyone who searches for me," "Only people I have invited with the 'Share this list' feature," or "Only me."
Very simple principle. Lots of data is individually acceptable, but when compiled or processed, is unacceptable.
For example, say you maintain a Slashdot identity that you don't link to your real name. While no one post of yours may be sufficient to tie your identity to your name, the sum total may be sufficient.
Or security cameras. Most people don't worry about *one* security camera, but a lot of people get concerned when they are constantly being monitored by cameras which are tied together by computer to monitor where they go each day.
Any program relying on (nontrivial) preemptive multithreading will be buggy.
If this guys links Amazon Wish Lists, Google Maps, the yellow pages, and personality typing using Ruby on Rails, he can call it a Web 2.0 Mashup and make millions when Google, Yahoo!, or Microsoft buys him out.
I smell a fully monetized eyeball!
- "When you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires to give it to you" -Paulo Coelho
No the FBI or anyone else would never bother with amazon wish list. They would simply get the sales records. This guy does not have access to those so he uses what he can to prove his point.
Yes it is scary. Especially for those of us who have family (or more to the point do not have family) killed for expressing the wrong ideas.
I however don't think we should blame the FBI or similar agencies, they are the instruments of us the people. It is we who have voted the current goverments into power. Corruption you say? Well then it is you and me that have allowed that to happen. I do not believe in the mythical innocent citizen. Others have died for freedom. No reason we should be allowed to sit on our backsides and complain our freedoms are taken away. FIGHT
Not that I will of course. I know deepdown that what is happening is wrong and also know that I am one of the cattle. Perhaps it will make it easier when I am put in a cattle wagon to be gassed.
The problem with fighting for your freedom is that one persons freedom fighter is another persons terrorist.
I ain't got an answer or a solution except to suggest "PAY CASH". Even if your part of the herd there is no reason to make it any easier for them to send you off to the slaughterhouse.
Will it happen? It has happened countless times before. Check the McCarty trials. The treatment of Japanse americans vs German americans. The gunning down of american citizens by police during peace protests. The way england handled the RIA and labor strikes. All of them pretty recent.
Something scary might happen in our lifetimes. Or not. This is one tiny example to prove that it won't be hard on the technical side. Now all we need to is to elect leaders crazy enough to do it. /me looks at the current leaders of the "free" west. Too late.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.