Schufa, Germany’s Largest Rating Firm Wants Access to Consumer Data from Social Networks

Here we go again except outside the US this time with more information to mine and sell.  Why else do rating firms want this data?  We also have to realize that all of this data is not perfect either and what if folks lie?  Does anyone do that on the web, what a question to ask, right?  In the US data mining makes billions for companies, banks, etc. while their overhead is very small and why companies don’t start doing more manufacturing here as this is all automated.  I keep saying they need to be taxed with a federal excise quarterly submission.  Maybe the credit folks in Germany want to make some money off the mined algorithms too?  Consumers suffer once again. 

We Pay Gasoline Tax to Keep Up the US Highway Infrastructure–Why Not Tax the Data Selling Companies and Banks to Keep Up the US Government IT Infrastructure? A “Buffett Tax” Alternative

As the middle class we have become data chasers here in the US to fix what is not correct and most of the time the information is not what any of us entered, aka the Killer Algorithms. 

Attack of the Killer Algorithms Part 6–Discrimination With Consumer Credit-Same As Health Insurance Wanting Consumers to Reconstruct Records From Many Years Past As Middle Class Turns Into Data Chasers-Days of Taking Risks to Get Ahead Will Be Limited For Most…Occupy Algorithms

Let’s hope they are not after the same game as FICO plays here with mismatched data to sell software and algorithms to score you on whether or not you will take medications as a patient, clearly a big abuse of data with trying to prove relativity.  They just want to make some money from some algorithms written and sell it to insurance and pharmaceutical companies.  BD

FICO Analytics Press Release Marketing Credit Scoring Algorithms to Predict Medication Adherence–Update (Opinion)

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Everyone knows Facebook is full of interesting data that’s being exploited in all sorts of ways –- whether by startups building businesses on the social graph, or employers who are vetting job candidates using the site.

But here’s a way in which you might not want your data mined: to help inform your credit score.

That’s precisely what’s on the cards in Germany, where Schufa, the country’s largest ratings firm, wants access to data from the Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts of its customers.

So what kind of data does the credit agency actually want to mine? According to the leaked documents, the main thrusts seem to be establishing relationship links between people and keeping tabs on address changes and address history.

http://gigaom.com/europe/credit-agency-mines-facebook-data/

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