Andy Brody Joe Christiana Rohan Murty Teddy Sherrill Pierce Tria Introduction Data aggregation is a natural but complex issue Its essence is the correlation of facts or the combination of two distinct facts to arrive at a conclusion In other words information produces inferences and these inferences are valuable Any enterprise involved in the business of selling information of any kind treads a fine line between what is deemed to be an invasion of privacy and what is deemed to be necessary for security ChoicePoint Inc is deemed to be one such enterprise In this document we highlight the two sides of the aggregation debate and how this affects the company We also propose certain solutions that may help mitigate the perception that the sale of information can lead to an erosion of privacy Our report is based on a detailed analysis of the nature of the business company practices and public relations We highlight that the practice of aggregation in itself is not problematic since it is the consumer who willingly participates in a system which clearly mandates an exchange of information Increasing technological advances have made it easier to collect information from the entire consumer market and hence when a consumer willingly participates in this market he agrees to the implicit collection of information ChoicePoint has taken several public relation hits in the recent past In order to improve ChoicePoint s practices in the sale of information we propose a reputation based two layered scheme when considering potential clients We believe this scheme shall improve the practices of the company and will protect privacy to a further extent This should lead to a better public perception of the company increase stakeholder confidence and make the company more accountable for the information it sells while being profitable The aim of the enterprise is to make profits and it is out intention to help it continue to do so while being accountable It s not ChoicePoint It s the System Long before it reaches the courtrooms or the legislative chambers of America the battle over the moral and legal character of data aggregation will be shaped most aptly by public opinion Bearing this in mind it s important that ChoicePoint take an active role in deflecting the negative attention associated with data aggregation We need to prevent our opponents from emphasizing the role of ChoicePoint in compromising users privacy and security Instead we must remind critics that these compromises result from a corporate world which relies on identification and confidence in order to conduct transactions that would otherwise be extremely risky When a consumer purchases an insurance policy and has his credit history or criminal record provided by ChoicePoint it is not the existence or function of ChoicePoint itself that leads to the extensive background checks and potentially invasive lifestyle research but rather the very fact of the interconnectedness and credit centricity of the modern capitalist economy The fact is ChoicePoint plays an integral role in allowing the modern corporate world to function a world that delivers an unprecedented number of goods and services to the average consumer at a high quality We must act in such a way that encourages those who attack ChoicePoint as the cause of privacy invasion to take a step back and evaluate the consequences of their opinions in a broader more thoughtful context ChoicePoint s Benefits ChoicePoint s functions are essential not only to the governmental agencies corporations and non profit institutions but to every consumer who benefits from the confident and secure operation of the services they depend on everyday ChoicePoint s core services to the general public include 1 Increased scrutiny for candidates for important or highly sensitive positions ChoicePoint assists in the identification of a sexual predator who might otherwise be employed to handle children every two days ChoicePoint also helps corporations avoid choosing C level executives with hidden histories of embezzlement or fraud potentially saving investors millions or billions of dollars every year Without the ability to screen those in line to enter sensitive occupational positions the personal and economic risks associated with nearly every facet of our modern life would become significantly more dire 2 Improved pursuit of criminals ChoicePoint s detailed metrics and data visualization tools help law enforcement agencies catch and track criminals in cases where doing so would otherwise be prohibitively costly and time consuming ChoicePoint not only helps prevent criminals from gaining access to our workplaces and financial institutions but also aids in putting them behind bars 3 Lowering interest rates and insurance premiums for honest Americans By helping lenders and insurance companies identify hidden risks ChoicePoint allows the interest rates or insurance premiums charged to the average consumer to decrease over time If banks are able to avoid or simply charge more to those with red flags in their history they are able to stay financially healthy and require a lower percentage from each consumer in order to compensate for their credit risk Similarly insurance companies can employ comprehensive background checks to find high risk individuals Put simply by helping to weed out those trying to cheat the system ChoicePoint allows honest consumers of financial and other services to operate with a higher degree of efficiency confidence and security ChoicePoint s Issues ChoicePoint does not currently enjoy a stellar reputation among the general public Seeking to keep a relatively low profile helps but it is hard to remain entirely hidden with a multi billion dollar data aggregation industry There are a number of privacy related organizations including the Electronic Privacy Information Center the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union that are especially concerned with some of the problems inherent in collecting large amounts of information Accuracy and Correcting ChoicePoint does not verify the accuracy of the information it gathers saying that is the responsibility of the primary information collectors It is reasonable to assume that many of the publicly accessible government databases are accurate and to put the onus on the corporations initially gathering the data to verify it However there is an additional problem when companies like ChoicePoint seek to draw