what are your bits worth?

February 5, 2004 9:08 AM

How much is your personal information worth?
personal data toolkit [ via newstoday ]
posted by specialk420 (13 comments total)

Not a whole lot. I'm kinda boring.
posted by jonmc at 9:21 AM on February 5, 2004

i think the drivers license scanning app looks interesting.
posted by specialk420 at 9:54 AM on February 5, 2004

So, I typed everything in that they asked for. When do I get my money?
posted by devbrain at 10:03 AM on February 5, 2004

Canadians should take heed of the new privacy legislation that came into effect on 2004/01/01.. Now when companies ask you for personal information you can ask "why" -- same as before -- but now they get fined a LOT if they don't give you a full and true answer.
posted by tiamat at 10:03 AM on February 5, 2004

My unpublished phone number is worth more than knowing whether or not I'm a sex offender.

I'll remember that from now on.
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:04 AM on February 5, 2004

Wow, I had very few of those things, and it would still cost
inquiring minds $162.40. Geez!
posted by Lynsey at 10:11 AM on February 5, 2004

I couldn't get the driver's license app to work. So of course now I'm paranoid that by uploading my DL barcode to an unknown website, multiple times, I've thoroughly and stupidly compromised the very security this website claimed to help protect!

Or, on the other hand, I could be the person who just stole stupidsexyFlanders' identity writing this. Someone ask something only I could answer so I can verify me.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 11:21 AM on February 5, 2004

My personal information's more or less worthless.


But I hope to make a quick buck on all of the shit that's crammed into my head.
posted by troutfishing at 11:29 AM on February 5, 2004

I'm totally going to ask Home Depot for fifty cents the next time they ask for my zip code at the checkout.
posted by jennyb at 12:20 PM on February 5, 2004

fifty cents

hahahah.. right on.
posted by specialk420 at 2:58 PM on February 5, 2004

The driver's license "decode your barcode" app works fine if you download it, but for some reason the online "upload your photo" version doesn't work. You need to run the .jar file from the command line and have java installed on your machine.

There's surprisingly little info. encoded on your license: name, date of birth, date of license registration, date of license expiration, address, are you an organ donor...and I think that was about it. [shrug]
posted by Asparagirl at 4:47 PM on February 5, 2004

Holy crap! I'm worth ten billion dollars!
posted by Mo Nickels at 6:23 AM on February 6, 2004

From HP Labs: Privacy and Deviance
[w]e conducted a reverse second-price auction to identify the monetary value of private information to individuals and how that value is set. Our results demonstrate that deviance, whether perceived or actual, from the group’s average asymmetrically impacts the price demanded to reveal private information. [via /.]
posted by MzB at 6:38 AM on February 7, 2004