This stand-alone ITGS lesson examines some of the privacy issues related to search engines. It is useful for giving prospective students an idea of the type of material that will be covered in the IB ITGS course, or for introducing existing students to the privacy social and ethical issue. Students will need their own laptops for this. Find more ITGS resources on my website: www.itgstextbook.com

1. Search Engines and Privacy
Information Technology in a Global Society

2. What types of data would we consider personal
data or sensitive data?

3. AOL Search Data
In 2006 American Online (AOL) released the
search queries made by over 650,000 of its
users. The users names were removed and
replaced with numbers, meaning they were
anonymous.
Or were they?

4. What can you determine about these users?
User 1
• how to change brake pads on porsche 944
• 2005 us open cup florida state champions
• how to get revenge on a ex girlfriend
• how to get revenge on a friend
• replacement bumper for porsche 944
• florida department of law enforcement
• crime stoppers florida
User 2
• chai tea calories , calories in bananas
• surgical help for depression
• can you adopt after depression
• who is not allowed to adopt
• i hate men
• jobs in denver colorado
• teaching positions in denver colorado
• how long will the swelling last after my tummy
tuck
• divorce laws in ohio
• free remote keyloggers
• baked macaroni and cheese with sour cream
• how to deal with anger
• teaching jobs with the denver school system
• marriage counseling tips
• anti psychotic drugs

5. AOL Search Data
Is there anything that indicates or strongly
suggests:
• Sex
• Age
• Religion
• Geographical location
• Race
• Occupation
Or any other personal or sensitive data?

6. AOL Search Data
The New York Times investigated the data
and successfully identified user #4417749 as
Thelma Arnold, a 61 year old from Georgia.
Her searches included:
• numb fingers
• 60 single men
• landscapers in Lilburn, Ga
• homes sold in shadow lake
Source: A Face is Exposed (NY Times)

7. Activity 2
1. Open your web browser’s history
(Control-H in most browsers)
2. In the search box, entering
google.com/search will show all the
Google searches in your history
3. Write 10 things Google could conclude
about you from your searches. Include
the term(s) that led to this conclusion.
(e.g. Searched for graduation dresses:
conclusion: probably female and
probably aged 18-19)

8. Why do search engines do this?
1. To target advertisements (over 95% of
Google’s revenue comes from
advertisements1)
2. To improve the search experience
(commonly searched terms, common
misspellings, etc)

9. Key Points
1. In addition to factual data (e.g. names,
addresses), large amounts of data are
collected about our behaviour and
activities – often invisibly.
2. A single piece of data might not be very
useful, but if you collect enough data you
can build up a very clear picture of a
person.
3. Privacy is about personal or sensitive
information. It doesn't have to be
something bad like visiting illegal sites.