AOL regrets publishing the search logs of 658,000 US users on a research website. The data was anonymised and covered only around 20m search queries of users of its client software. But it set off an internet firestorm of criticism.

So AOL has done the PR-savvy thing and 'fessed up to making an error of judgement in releasing the logs. The data was pulled last weekend, although not before various mirror sites got their mitts on it.

"This was a screw-up, and we're angry and upset about it," AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said, AP reports. "It was an innocent enough attempt to reach out to the academic community with new research tools, but it was obviously not appropriately vetted, and if it had been, it would have been stopped in an instant."

More background can be found in our analysis here. ®

Related stories

• Mobile operators combine to flog customer data (16 February 2009)
• AOL sued over search engine data release (26 September 2006)
• Europe may mandate data breach notification (13 September 2006)
• Guidelines needed to protect anonymity (30 August 2006)
• AOL CTO resigns over privacy 'screw-up' (22 August 2006)
• AOL reported to FTC (16 August 2006)
• Amazon 'plans world's biggest personal data stash' (14 August 2006)
• Google vows: We'll keep hoarding your porn queries (12 August 2006)
• Ancient satire foretold AOL's privacy disaster (10 August 2006)
• AOL publishes database of users' intentions (7 August 2006)
• Tech giants demand US-wide privacy law (23 June 2006)
• Phew! Google saves US netizens from Gov snoops (20 March 2006)
• Google cuts data deal with DoJ (14 March 2006)
• 77% of Google users don't know it records personal data (24 January 2006)