Spokeo Fined $800K By FTC For Marketing Its Services To Employers 81
nonprofiteer writes "Spokeo was one of the first public-facing person-profiling companies to attract the ire of those profiled. Taglined 'not your grandmother's phonebook,' it offers up profiles pulled from public records, social networking sites, etc, including your address, worth of your home, who's in your family, your estimated wealth, your hobbies and interests, and more. People freaked out when they first discovered it. Apparently, the company was selling reports to employers, but not following principles set forth by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Federal Trade Commission is fining them $800,000. FTC also chastises them for writing fake positive reviews around the Web."
Re:I am safe. (Score:5, Insightful)
I typed in my own name. They had nothing on me. They found a few other people of the same name, but they were clearly not me.
In some circumstances that can be much much worse.
Nice slap on the wrist... (Score:5, Insightful)
$800,000 and a "don't do that again, or at least don't get caught" is a slap on the wrist in this type of market.