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Netflix Settles Privacy Suit, Cancels Netflix Prize II

by Terrence O'Brien on March 13, 2010 at 08:25 AM

"We thought that it would generated some big interest among a couple hundred machine learning experts. It became a news-making machine." That's what Netflix spokesman, Steve Swasey, told Forbes following the announcement that the Netflix Prize II had been canceled and that the company had settled a lawsuit relating to the first Netflix Prize. The first contest awarded $1 million to the person, or persons, who could improve the accuracy of its recommendation engine by ten-percent.

The lawsuit was filed after a pair of Texas University researchers discovered that, by using information provided by Netflix and referencing it against third-party data like reviews from IMDB, they could figure out people's real identity, political leanings, and even sexual preference. Netflix Prize II would have opened up even more identifiable information, such as zip codes and gender, sending privacy advocates into a panic.

Financial details of the settlement, if there are any, are unknown, but forestalling the Netflix Prize II program until a proper method of protecting user data can be found was one of the conditions. Scott Kampor, the attorney for the anonymous plaintiff, made a point of clarifying that, "My clients specifically expressed an interest in making sure that those opportunities were not foreclosed." The goal is simply to ensure that customer information is properly safeguarded. [From: Forbes and Netflix]

Tags: law, lawsuit, netflix, netflix prize, NetflixPrize, privacy, steve swasey, SteveSwasey, top

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