Privacy service

• US 6,886,101 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2002
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Bishop, Fred, Glazer, Elliott
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel
• Assistant Examiner(s): REVAK, CHRISTOPHER A
• Application Number:
  US10/283,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20040088295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 713200-202, 707 1- 10, 705/22, 705/26, 705/28, 705/14, 705/30, 705/35
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A system and method providing a privacy service for facilitating the auditing and control of privacy data such as demographic and financial information. In accordance with one embodiment, the system suitably includes a database, a registration module, a tracking module, and an audit module. A consumer, corporation, or other user may use the system to perform a self audit of their privacy data to see how the privacy data is collected, used and disseminated by various third party entities such as merchants, financial institutions, marketing organizations and the like. Tracking information related to the use, collection and dissemination of the privacy data is stored by the system for later access by the user.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating a self audit of a first privacy data associated with a first user and a second privacy data associated with a second user, comprising the steps:

collecting the first privacy data associated with the first user;

storing the first privacy data in a central database;

collecting the second privacy data associated with the second user;

storing the second privacy data in the central database;

facilitating the first user to self audit the first privacy data, wherein the first user is restricted from auditing the second privacy data, and wherein the self audit comprises;

retrieving audit information for the stored first privacy data;

reviewing the retrieved audit information; and

changing a first privacy policy and the first privacy data associated with the first user based on the first user'"'"'s review of the audit information; and

facilitating the second user to self audit the second privacy data, wherein the second user is restricted from auditing the first privacy data, and wherein the self audit comprises;

retrieving audit information for the stored second privacy data;

reviewing the retrieved audit information; and

changing a second privacy policy and the second privacy data associated with the second user based on the second user'"'"'s review of the audit information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of collecting the first privacy data comprises collecting the first privacy data in accordance with the first privacy policy, and wherein said step of collecting the second privacy data comprises collecting the second privacy data in accordance with the second privacy policy.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of storing the first and second privacy data comprises storing the first and second privacy data in a plurality of distributed databases.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

tracking access made to the first privacy data in the form of a first tracking data;

providing said first tracking data to the first user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of tracking comprises:

tracking a subset of modifications made to the first privacy data;

tracking a subset of deletions made to the first privacy data;

tracking a subset of additions made to the first privacy data;

tracking an identity of one or more accessing entities that access the first privacy data; and

tracking a date and a time of one or more accesses made to the first privacy data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said step of tracking further comprises tracking a content of the first privacy data accessed by one of the accessing entities.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said step of tracking further comprises tracking a dissemination of the first privacy data by one of the accessing entities.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of providing the first user with the capability of modifying the first privacy data and providing the second user with the capability of modifying the second privacy data.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of propagating the modified first and second privacy data to associated third parties.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of propagating the modified first and second privacy data to associated government entities.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of classifying a plurality of third party entities into a plurality of classes;

and

wherein said step of facilitating the first user to self audit includes providing the first user with a capability to allow and disallow access to the first privacy data to specified classes of third party entities, and wherein said step of facilitating the second user to self audit includes providing the second user with a capability to allow and disallow access to the second privacy data to specified classes of third party entities.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of disclosing an identity of one or more third party entities that is allowed access to the first privacy data.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of disclosing an identity of one or more third party entities that is disallowed access to the first privacy data.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of disclosing a content of the first privacy data that may be accessed.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

disseminating the first privacy data; and

rewarding the first user for the disseminating of the first privacy data.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of facilitating the first user to self audit the first privacy data further comprises:

providing a plurality of access modes to the first user for accessing the first privacy data;

reporting the first privacy data to the first user;

reporting all uses of the first privacy data to the first user;

reporting all dissemination of the first privacy data to the first user;

allowing the first user to change the first privacy data; and

allowing the first user to change access to the first privacy data.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of access modes includes accessing the first privacy data by one of an Internet device, a voice response unit, a point of sale terminal, an interactive television, a telephone, and a video text.

18. A method of facilitating the use of a first privacy data associated with a first entity and a second privacy data associated with a second entity, comprising the steps of:

storing said first and second privacy data;

tracking all access made to said first and second privacy data;

comparing said access to said first privacy data to a first policy of the first entity;

comparing said access to said second privacy data to a second policy of the second entity;

reporting said comparison of said first policy to the first entity;

reporting said comparison of said second policy to second entity;

facilitating the first entity to self audit the first privacy data, wherein the first entity is restricted from auditing the second privacy data, and wherein the self audit comprises;

retrieving audit information for the stored first privacy data;

reviewing the retrieved audit information; and

changing the first privacy policy and the first privacy data based on the first entity'"'"'s review of the audit information; and

facilitating the second entity to self audit the second privacy data, wherein the second entity is restricted from auditing the first privacy data, and wherein the self audit comprises;

retrieving audit information for the stored second privacy data;

reviewing the retrieved audit information; and

changing the second privacy policy and the second privacy data based on the second entity'"'"'s review of the audit information.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of automatically paying a royalty to the first entity, wherein said royalty is based on said access made to said first privacy data.

20. A privacy service system for maintaining a first privacy data associated with a first user having a first privacy policy and a second privacy data associated with a second user having a second privacy policy, said system comprising:

a database for storing the first and second privacy data;

a registration module configured to register the first user and the second user for the privacy service;

a tracking module configured to track access to the first privacy data associated with the first user and to track access to the second privacy data associated with the second user; and

an audit module configured to allow the first user to self audit the first privacy data, wherein the first user is restricted from auditing the second privacy data, wherein the audit module is configured to retrieve audit information for the first privacy data from the database, to allow the first user to review the audit information, and to allow the first user to change the first privacy policy and the first privacy data based on the first user'"'"'s review of the audit information; and

wherein the audit module is further configured to allow the second user to self audit the second privacy data.