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Anonymity of Netflix Prize Dataset Broken

Posted by Zonk on from the there-are-degrees-of-anonymity dept.

KentuckyFC writes "The anonymity of the Netflix Prize dataset has been broken by a pair of computer scientists from the University of Texas, according to a report from the physics arXivblog. It turns out that an individual's set of ratings and the dates on which they were made are pretty unique, particularly if the ratings involve films outside the most popular 100 movies. So it's straightforward to find a match by comparing the anonymized data against publicly available ratings on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) (abstract on the physics arxiv). The researchers used this method to find how individuals on the IMDb privately rated films on Netflix, in the process possibly working out their political affiliation, sexual preferences and a number of other personal details"

3 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Sexual preferences? by mh1997 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who goes out of their way to rate "Anal Whores 3" online?
    The good thing about porn flicks, as a general rule, is that they're too bland to have really bad plots. The search for good dialogue strays too far off the beaten path established by the social mores of the target market, be that old men, college students, or perverts out on dates. There are pornos with solid plots, just rarely pornos with complicated plots.

    What they generally aren't is full of capers designed by crackheads in search of sexual relief, or a dominatrix dying to destroy the gold market with a Da Vinci alchemy machine only a cat burglar from Hoboken could steal.

    Yes, the plot of Anal Whores 3 is as convoluted as it is kitschy. Mercedes and Veronica Diamond forcibly enlist the help of happy-go-lucky and half-a-second-out-of-prison pizza delivery man Hawk (Peter North) to steal the pieces to a machine that turns lead vibrators into gold. Hawk isn't halfway to a cup of coffee with his wise cracking cohort, Tommy (Johnny Cockring) when he finds himself back in the burglary game. Casing out a heist he meets nun/professional patron of the arts/double agent/love interest Jessie Jane (vows of bestiality can put the kibosh on even the best of cinematic love interests). When you throw in a CIA agent (Dick Coburn) and a couple of double dildos, you've managed to make the world's most convoluted porno....

  2. Re:Probabilities by Chapter80 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I think you're missing the point.

    If you rate a handful of movies on ImDB, under the persona "MyNickname12345" and that can be traced to your personal MySpace page, you have made that choice. No problem.

    If you then submit 100 movie ratings to Netflix, assuming that it is PRIVATE information that will not be linked back to you, and then Netflix releases the data to the public, now the 100 movies can be correlated to you, and your name can be revealed. Researchers have shown how PRIVATE DATA released to the public can be linked to already public information. PROBLEM!

  3. Re:Sexual preferences? by Minwee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, they would have to have watched Hudson Hawk to do that. That narrows the field considerably.