Data mining: a slippery slope.

• Author: Montana, John
• Position: Legal

Collectively, the world's information set grows by leaps and bounds every year. This phenomenon is driven by technology -- we are now able to capture and store information in quantities and ways never before possible -- but it is also driven by usage. Technology aside, information is now analyzed and used in ways that were not thought of even a few years ago. The purposes for this new research and mining of our data set -- medical, epidemiological, demographic, marketing and others -- allow us to draw conclusions not otherwise possible or to focus marketing or other activities to groups we would otherwise know little about. The ability to sell such information to third parties, rather than merely use it ourselves, offers another lucrative possibility.

The resale of public domain information illustrates this phenomenon. For several years, there has been a thriving industry in acquiring and reselling drivers' license information and property tax records in bulk, which are obtained by private organizations from government agencies under open records laws. In an era when much personal information is captured electronically, private organizations now find that sale of privately gathered information is similarly possible. The amount and type of information is growing. Internet users record, albeit unintentionally, a variety of data about themselves every time they log on, such as who they talk to, where they shop, and what their interests are. Whenever they fill out registration forms required to negotiate on the Internet, they add to the pile. Many such forms contain overt survey questions that are designed to fill in gaps about personal information rather than aid registration.

The information potentially available on any person may include garden-variety data, such as name, address, and telephone number. However, much higher value information, normally considered private by its owner, may also be available, including income and financial information, medical diagnosis or treatment information, property ownership, and credit card numbers.

Unfortunately for the parties collecting it, the desire to use and re-use personal information for purposes unintended by the person it concerns often runs afoul of the person's desires and expectations. A June 28 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of American respondents think the government should pass more privacy laws to control use of personal information given out over the Internet. Legally, the question regarding privacy of personal information is an area of considerable confusion and complication.

The average person assumes that he or she has a general right of privacy. This is not so -- in the United States, there is no general right of privacy. The constitution is silent on the matter, and the courts have never found a general right of privacy. Therefore, a legal...