Privacy, ethics and the Internet

Wired has a long history of deep coverage of technology and the Internet in particular. In a recent article, Kevin Poulsen reported on scripts he wrote and released as open source to cross-reference the federal sex offenders register with MySpace profiles. 

Credit where credit is due, Poulsen identified an individual who was promptly arrested by the FBI for his activities. He also says:

If you do make matches after careful visual review, don't go all vigilante. The state Megan's Laws that created the registries also generally proscribe using the data to harass ex-offenders. Another important legal point: At the time that I ran this code, neither MySpace nor the Department of Justice had any prohibition on automated searches of their data. That could change at any time.

Unfortunately the article is one-sided and fails to mention serious flaws in the system:

1. There is no mention of the fact that the "five mile radius search" used by MySpace frequently includes several individuals of the same name.
2. That even a very small minority of concerned citizens taking up the software will rapidly lead to the complete breakdown of the sex offenders register.
3. That screen scraping (the technique used to retrieve data from both websites) is far from an idea form of data gathering and users need to be aware of significant issues with it and use it as a last resort.
4. No mention of the exactly why Megan's Laws have anti-harassment clauses.
5. The article contains no self-reflection, no consideration of privacy or ethics and no consideration of due process.

The lack of consideration of due process is particularly ironic, given that he himself spent three years in jail without trial for cracking. Maybe he's out to prove there are criminals and criminals, and he's not the lowest of the low. I really don't know.

I'm disappointed that he is now employed by wired as a "Senior Editor," since I enjoy a significant minority of wired's ariticles.

cheers stuart