[1] The New York Times was able to locate an individual from the released and anonymized search records by cross referencing them with phonebook listings.
The lawsuit accuses AOL of violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and of fraudulent and deceptive business practices, among other claims, and seeks at least $5,000 for every person whose search data was exposed.
[13][14] Consumer watchdog website The Consumerist posted a blog entry by editor Ben Popken identifying the anonymous user number 927[15] as having an especially bizarre and macabre search history, ranging from butterfly orchids and the band Fall Out Boy,[16] to search terms relating to child pornography and zoophilia.
[18] In addition to sparking the interest of the Internet community, User 927 inspired a theatrical production, written by Katharine Clark Gray in Philadelphia.
[19] A series of movies on the web site Minimovies called I Love Alaska puts voice and imagery to User 711391 which the authors have labeled as "an episodic documentary".