Anger for Path Social Network

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Monday, February 13, 2012

Anger for Path Social Network After Privacy Breach 

By NICK BILTON

Last week, Arun Thampi, a programmer in Singapore, discovered that the mobile social network Path was surreptitiously copying address book information from users' iPhones without notifying them.

David Morin, Path's voluble chief executive, quickly commented on Mr. Thampi's blog that Path's actions were an "industry best practice." He then became uncharacteristically quiet as the Internet disagreed and erupted in outrage. Amid his silence, he did take the time to reply to the actress Alyssa Milano, who was one of hundreds who questioned Path's practices. (His reply to her via Twitter contained his personal e-mail address.)

Mr. Morin seemed unconcerned about how people could be harmed by his company's carelessness. Consider this: Amira El Ahl, a foreign journalist covering the Middle East, said bloggers in Egypt and Tunisia are often approached online by people who are state security in disguise.

The most sought-after bounty for state officials: dissidents' address books, to figure out who they are in cahoots with, where they live and information about their family. In some cases, this information leads to roundups and arrests.

A person's contacts are so sensitive that Alec Ross, a senior adviser on innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, said the State Department was supporting the development of an application that would act as a "panic button" on a smartphone, enabling people to erase all contacts with one click if they are arrested during a protest.

Mr. Morin eventually did bow to pressure with an earnest apology on the company's blog. He said that Path would begin asking for permission before grabbing address books and that the company would destroy the data collected.