An organization within the Second Life online virtual world is collecting real-world information on users, sidestepping the sites' terms of use and possibly some data protection laws, reports Avril Korman for Search Engine Watch. While Linden Lab, the company that owns the site, offers tools to customize the user experience, the report states that it is not providing adequate support, causing a rise in self-policing organizations. One such organization has, in concert with others, begun collecting information on "people's real lives, including jobs, medical conditions and family," and posting it to an unsecure wiki site, according to Korman. Some users are dismissing the threat, but Korman says, "Until Linden Lab starts actually managing their own (virtual) land and dealing with security issues in an effective manner, this problem and others like them will continue."
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