Could Being a Nudist Give You Bad Credit?

THE BARE Platypus has often pondered the impact of technology on home and social nudism.  We’ve discussed the likely effect of Instagram, Google Glass, Cloud Computing, and Data Rationing.  Now there’s a new issue.

This week a German credit rating company pulled back from a plan to acquire mass amounts of Facebook data.  The company claimed it merely wanted to better serve and market to customers. 

We understand that companies use information from social media to target advertising, such as placing a banner ad for RV insurance on the welcome page of a user who lists an interest in camping.  But privacy experts fear the worst when sensitive material gets in the hands of a credit rating company. 

For example, suppose such a company learned you “liked” a Facebook campaign to legalize marijuana? Rightly or wrongly, it could conclude you're more likely to wind up in jail and unable to pay your bills, then lower your credit score accordingly.

Now suppose that those who assess credit scores learned you follow Bare Platypus, or subscribe to the All Nudist e-Newspaper.  Would they assign you a lower credit score for being “more likely to be fired by an employer" over your private life?

Some of you are probably shouting “Bring it on!” at your computer screens about now.  Others are probably busy adopting new cryptic pseudonyms for their screen names.