The patent that Facebook got yesterday has some very disturbing implications. From
venturebeat:
The patent describes a technology that tracks the way users are connected in a network. The main use case is for preventing members of a network from sending spam to other members with who they’re not directly or legitimately connected. Other use cases involve preventing network members from receiving emails from, or showing up in the search results of, people with whom they have no direct or legitimate connection.
That seems semi-fair enough. This patent sounds like a spam filter of sorts. We all hate spam. However,
according to the patent one of the possible uses are as so:
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.
Wait, what? That's a terrible thing. Besides how unscientific it is, it clearly can only lead to one of two things: 1) You get screwed on your loan because you have friends who don't have great credit scores, 2) You choose a social network of friends based on credit scores.