Privacy Concerns Shut Down Online Directory

University Information Systems took down a beta version of Harvard Connections—an online directory billed as “a richer, interactive site including user-generated content”—last Friday, just two days after its launch, due to privacy concerns raised by the Harvard community.

The Web site, which originally allowed internal users to view contact information and Harvard ID photos of University affiliates, was shut down temporarily in order to “incorporate [user] feedback and fix some critical technical bugs,” Kishan Mallur, director of IT infrastructure services, said in a statement.

“Some users objected to their image and other information being included,” Mallur said. “There will be additional communications and discussions before the site goes live again so that people can review their privacy settings.”

University spokesman Kevin Galvin did not clarify the nature of the technical issues or whether Harvard Connections adhered to the same privacy settings that users chose for the existing Harvard University directories.

Mallur added in the statement that the beta version of the site was intended to allow users to familiarize themselves with new features and provide UIS with feedback.

The beta version of Harvard Connections used some form of IP filtering to determine who had access to the directory, meaning that only computers within the Harvard network would have been able to view the information.

Assistant Computer Science professor Stephen N. Chong, who specializes in privacy issues, wrote in an e-mailed statement that protecting user privacy is both a managerial as well as technical challenge.

“The issues with the Harvard Connections Web site emphasize that [user privacy] is a common and pressing problem,” Chong wrote.

Students also stressed the importance of being able to control access to their contact information.

“In general, it is important to me that Harvard protect my contact information,” said Joanna I. Naples-Mitchell ’10. “It is also important that we understand the terms that we are agreeing to from the outset.”