CEO of data privacy company Onerep.com founded dozens of people-search firms (krebsonsecurity.com)

Article summary

The CEO of Onerep.com, a data privacy company, has been found to have founded dozens of people-search firms, contradicting the company's stated goal of protecting personal online security. Onerep.com offers a service to remove personal information from people-search sites, but its founder's past involvement in the industry raises concerns about the company's ethics. The company's founder, Dimitri Shelest, has responded to the findings, stating that there is no crossover or information-sharing between Onerep and his previous ventures. The discovery has also raised questions about Mozilla's partnership with Onerep for its data removal service.

Main themes

• Data privacy
• People-search firms
• Conflicts of interest
• Online security
• Ethics in business
• Partnerships and collaborations

What commenters say

• The CEO of Onerep.com's past involvement in people-search firms is a clear conflict of interest and undermines the company's credibility.
• Mozilla's partnership with Onerep.com is a mistake and reflects poorly on the company's commitment to privacy and security.
• Generating fake data to flood public channels and protect one's personal information is a viable strategy, but it requires significant effort and may not be effective.
• The commercialization of opinion and the sale of merchandise to both sides of a partisan divide is a problematic trend that can stoke conflict and polarization.
• Some commenters believe that the issue is not with selling merchandise to both sides, but rather with the implication that the seller represents the causes they are selling for.
• Others argue that the practice of selling merchandise to both sides is a form of racketeering and deceptive business practice.
• There are concerns that the use of AI tools and technologies may make it easier for companies to filter out accurate information and target individuals with personalized advertising.
• Some commenters suggest that individuals should take matters into their own hands and use tools and services to opt-out of data broker sites and protect their personal information.