Briefs

Algorithms could help governments finger critics, says Reporters Without Borders

June 03, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Microsoft Corp. research on Internet user profiling could lead to tools that help repressive regimes identify anonymous dissidents, the Reporters Without Borders advocacy group warned last Friday.

In a paper presented at the International World Wide Web Conference last month in Calgary, Canada, four researchers at Microsoft's Beijing-based lab laid out work that predicted the age and gender ( Demographic Prediction Based on User�s Browsing Behavior, PDF) of unknown Web users based on the sites they visited. Their new algorithms correctly guessed the gender of a Web surfer 80% of the time, and his or her age 60% of the time.

"Demographic information is usually not easy to obtain," the researchers said. "Internet users are reluctant to expose this kind of personal data to public. The alternative way to predict users' demographic information is then of great interest." The Microsoft researchers said such predictions could be used to better personalize Web applications and fine-tune online advertising.

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