Gotta love mash-ups. You know, using several services and data to build something the original developers didn’t think about. But once they go creepy, then I just don’t know. PervWatch is a mash-up that allows US citizens to track information about previous sexual offenders and map them (using Google Maps). Quoting:

This site aims to make it easy for anyone to quickly find sex offenders in a graphical way. Many of the state registries fulfill the purpose of making the data freely accessible, however it can be difficult and time-consuming to determine just how many live near you, and how close they are. This site plots the sex offenders on a map so you can instantly see how many and where they are.

Creepy. And it’s not that some people won’t find the information useful (creepier), but about when information crosses the border from the web and into personal data. Some might agree that once it’s on the web, it’s public domain, but turning attention into “how close” a sex offender is may result in some serious stuff.

A disclaimer: I have little tolerance for (most types of) crime. Still, I believe perpetrator data should remain private whenever possible to avoid society backlash - particularly in cases where the offender may be trying to redeem himself. There may even be cases when the data is simply incorrect, and that’s even worse. However, I’ve never had a case with my family and loved ones, so I don’t know what motivated the developer apart from obvious press.

Lets assume you live in a neighborhood with a bunch of people tagged by the mash-up as “offenders”. You don’t even know your neighbours names, so you check out the houses on the map so you can stay clear from whoever you find to have “a past”. But, what if street information is wrong? You would be assuming someone as a sex offender while they might not be one. Talk about awkward situations when the whole neighborhood stays clear off of someone who has nothing to do with the case.

Anyway, it’s a mash-up. It lets you see if your neighbourhood has any weird characters. But when can proof of concept cross the privacy limits? Morning thoughts. Link to pervwatch via Andy Baio’s amazing Waxy.org Links.