Privacy & New Media

Facebook and Twitter are taking action against an automated babysitter-rating system reported on last weekby The Washington Post, saying the service broke the social networks’ rules on user surveillance and data privacy.

Predictim, a California-based start-up, analyzes babysitters’ online histories, including on Facebook and Twitter, and offers ratings of whether they are at risk of drug abuse, bullying or having a “bad attitude.” . . .

Predictim’s chief said the company was undeterred by the restrictions: “If you’re not hiding anything, if you’re not abusive, if you’re not a bully, I don’t see why you’d be scared.”