Re: [projectvrm] Facebook patents technology to help lenders discriminate against borrowers based on social connections

[Kevin Cox < >]

This is most interesting.  

I wonder if there is a class action to be made against websites where data has been provided without the person's permission that harmed them economically?  Perhaps some entrepreneurial lawyers might see this as an opportunity?  Maybe this is also why Facebook have taken out the patents?  

Kevin

On Sat, Aug 8, 2015 at 1:03 AM, LaVonne Reimer < " target="_blank"> > wrote:

A couple notes on this.

First, it's an approach taken by multiple "big data underwriting" startups to which billions . . . and billions of venture capital continue to flow. As an aside, I'm curious whether Facebook will use this patent to go after them. Most of the startups go well beyond the company you keep to other forms of social media and behavioral information. I don't have the expertise in the targeted advertising arena that others on this list can claim but I do know this data is being mined increasingly to profile people as creditworthy or not. This bit about your connections is just one piece though. If it were the only piece at least you'd know how to game the system.

A classic example of data created or collected in one context being used in another where the unexpectedness of it all can be linked to monetary harm.

Second, I met with a prospective investor yesterday. It's big-time NYC money that usually doesn't flow to a startup but these guys have been monitoring the identity verification and credit space for some time so they're at least taking a close look at my deal. They totally buy into the Lumenous premise that putting business owners in charge of their data will not only lead to better and more timely information for creditors but will set the stage for a universal system of credit and trust that can adapt to economic communities of interest we have yet to imagine.

What interested me is that he really wasn't talking in VRM terms. He just says these guys who are vacuuming up every bit of data they can are garbage collectors. Worse, they craft algorithms to justify vacuuming up lots and lots of data. In other words, VRM (at least in some domains) may win on the "merits."

Tom, thanks for posting this. I had missed it.

LaVonne

On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 7:12 PM, Tom Crowl < " target="_blank"> > wrote:

Facebook patents technology to help lenders discriminate against borrowers based on social connections

http://venturebeat.com/2015/08/04/facebook-patents-technology-to-help-lenders-discriminate-against-borrowers-based-on-social-connections/

From their patent:

"In a fourth embodiment of the invention, the service provider is a lender. When an individual applies for a loan, the lender examines the credit ratings of members of the individual’s social network who are connected to the individual through authorized nodes. If the average credit rating of these members is at least a minimum credit score, the lender continues to process the loan application. Otherwise, the loan application is rejected."

Better not associate with any poor people on the web! The oligarchy's screws are tightening...

Tom Crowl

http://CulturalEngineer.blogspot.com

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LaVonne Reimer, Founder
Lumenous
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