Google rescinds request for childrens’ sensitive data

When Google created YAPF* yesterday, I figured I’d wait a bit until the dust settled before covering it. The dust settled within 24 hours, as Byron Acohido reports:

Google has rescinded its requirement for parents to divulge part of their childrens’ Social Security number, along with other Personally Identifiable Information, in order to participate in its Doodle-4-Google contest.

The search giant has drawn criticism from security and privacy advocates who point out how easy it is to calculate a fairly accurate statistical guess about a person’s identity using a partial Social Security number, city of birth and year of birth.

Read more on USA Today.

(Yet Another Privacy Flap, hashtag pending)