JP2015005012A - Information processing device for protecting privacy, information distribution system, privacy protecting method, and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in which a user's privacy can be invaded.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: virtual user generation means that generates a virtual user identifier corresponding to a plurality of users on the basis of activity information; distribution request transfer means that transmits a distribution request obtained by replacing a user identifier included in the distribution request with the virtual user identifier; and distribution information transfer means that transmits distribution information transmitted from a server to the users corresponding to the virtual user identifier.

Description

  The present invention relates to a privacy protection technique, and more particularly to a technique for reducing individual specificity in a user behavior analysis for providing information.

  Techniques for providing information suitable for individual users and various related techniques are known.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an example of an information providing system. First, the information providing system evaluates the similarity of the behavior information for each user. Second, the information providing system groups the behavior information for each user based on the evaluation result. Third, the information providing system generates presentation information based on behavior information that is not included in the behavior information of a specific user among the grouped behavior information. Fourth, the information providing system provides the generated presentation information to the specific user.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an example of an advertisement result utilization system. First, the advertisement result utilization system analyzes a correlation between user attribute information, individual media, advertiser information, and an action performed based on an advertisement result based on the access history. Second, the advertisement result utilization system specifies recommended information for each user based on the analysis result.

  Patent Document 3 discloses an example of a recommended program providing method. First, the recommended program providing method obtains an evaluation value of each program for each of the preference groups based on the accumulated user attribute information and program operation history information. Secondly, the recommended program providing method specifies a preference group to which a requesting user belongs based on user attribute information included in a recommended program search request from the user. Third, the recommended program providing method sorts recommended programs for the requesting user based on the evaluation value. According to Patent Document 3, operation history information is managed based on user attribute information that does not include information for identifying an individual, rather than a unique identifier of a user, so that privacy infringement does not occur and management is facilitated.

JP 2009-087073 A JP 2007-156930 A JP 2005-332087 A

  However, the techniques described in the above-mentioned patent documents still have a problem that the privacy of the user may be infringed.

  The reason is that Patent Literature 1 uses action information directly associated with a user. In addition, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 use user attribute information that can identify a user by a combination thereof.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information distribution system, a privacy protection method, and a program therefor that can solve the above-described problems.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a virtual user generation unit that generates virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users based on behavior information; and a user identifier that identifies the user included in a distribution request. A distribution request transfer means for transmitting the changed distribution request to the corresponding virtual user identifier, and a distribution information transfer means for transmitting the distribution information transmitted from the server to the user corresponding to the virtual user identifier. ,including.

  According to the privacy protection method of the present invention, the computer generates a virtual user identifier corresponding to a plurality of users based on the behavior information, specifies the user included in the distribution request, and corresponds the user identifier to the user. It replaces with the virtual user identifier, transmits the replaced distribution request, and transmits distribution information received from the server to the user corresponding to the virtual user identifier.

  The program of the present invention generates a virtual user identifier corresponding to a plurality of users based on behavior information, specifies the user included in the distribution request, and sets the user identifier to the virtual user identifier corresponding to the user. Replacing, transmitting the replaced distribution request, and causing the computer corresponding to the virtual user identifier to transmit the distribution information received from the server.

  The information distribution system of the present invention includes a virtual user generation unit that generates virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users based on behavior information, and a user identifier that identifies the user included in the distribution request. A distribution request transfer means for transmitting the changed distribution request to the corresponding virtual user identifier, and a distribution information transfer means for transmitting distribution information received from a server to a user corresponding to the virtual user identifier; User behavior learning means for learning the user's behavior based on the changed delivery request.

  The present invention has an effect of reducing the possibility of infringing on the privacy of a user.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a privacy protection device 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information distribution system in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer that implements the privacy protection device 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the behavior information AI in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a behavior feature table according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user feature table according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mapping table in the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mapping table in the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mapping table according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the privacy protection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distribution request DRU in the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distribution request DRV in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the privacy protection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the distribution information DIS in the first embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of distribution information DIT according to the first embodiment. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the privacy protection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information distribution system in the first embodiment. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the information delivery system in the first embodiment. FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the information distribution system in the first embodiment.

  Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment described in each drawing and specification, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

<<<< first embodiment >>>>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a privacy protection device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the privacy protection apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a virtual user generation unit 110, a distribution request transfer unit 120, and a distribution information transfer unit 130. The constituent elements shown in FIG. 1 may be constituent elements in hardware units or constituent elements divided into functional units of the computer apparatus. Here, the components shown in FIG. 1 will be described as components divided into functional units of the computer apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the information distribution system 101 including the privacy protection device 100 according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information distribution system 101 includes a privacy protection device 100, a user terminal 102, and an information distribution server 103. The privacy protection device 100, the user terminal 102, and the information distribution server 103 are connected to each other via a network (not shown). Note that, regardless of the example of the information distribution system 101 illustrated in FIG. 2, the user terminal 102 and the information distribution server 103 may be an arbitrary number.

=== Virtual User Generation Unit 110 ===
The virtual user generation unit 110 generates virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users based on the behavior information. The behavior information is information regarding each user's behavior. The behavior information is hereinafter referred to as behavior information AI (Activity Information). The virtual user identifier is hereinafter referred to as a virtual user identifier VUI (Virtual User Identifier). The virtual user identifier VUI also corresponds to a user identifier UI (User Identifier) that identifies each user.

  For example, the virtual user generation unit 110 determines the plurality of users corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI based on the characteristics (for example, preference characteristics) for each user calculated based on the behavior information AI. In this case, the virtual user generation unit 110 may determine the users whose features are relatively similar to the plurality of users corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI.

  The virtual user generation unit 110 may determine to increase the number of users included in the plurality of users as the desired anonymity is higher. For example, the virtual user generation unit 110 may determine the number of users of a plurality of users based on anonymity indicated by means (not shown). Or the virtual user production | generation part 110 is good also considering the number of users shown by the means which is not shown in figure as the number of the some users.

  Further, the virtual user generation unit 110 may assign a virtual user identifier VUI for each access destination. In other words, the virtual user generation unit 110 may determine a plurality of users corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI for each access destination. Here, the access destination is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) in the information distribution server 103 corresponding to a distribution request described later.

  Further, there may be one or more virtual user identifiers VUI corresponding to a plurality of user identifiers UI (plural users).

  The virtual user generation unit 110 preferably stores the correspondence between the user identifier UI and the virtual user identifier VUI in a storage unit (not shown).

=== Delivery Request Transfer Unit 120 ===
The distribution request transfer unit 120 replaces the user identifier UI included in the distribution request received from the user terminal 102 with the virtual user identifier VUI, and transmits the replaced distribution request to the information distribution server 103. Here, the virtual user identifier VUI is a virtual user identifier VUI corresponding to the user specified by the user identifier UI. The distribution request is, for example, a message that the user terminal 102 requests the information distribution server 103 to distribute information.

  When a plurality of virtual user identifiers VUI correspond to the user identifier UI, the distribution request transfer unit 120 assigns the user identifier UI to the virtual user identifier VUI in any unused state among those virtual user identifiers VUI. Change it randomly. The distribution request transfer unit 120 may be replaced based on a predetermined rule instead of random. Further, when the virtual user identifier VUI is assigned to each access destination, the distribution request transfer unit 120 replaces the user identifier UI with the virtual user identifier VUI corresponding to the access destination that should respond to the distribution request. It's okay.

  For example, the distribution request transfer unit 120 is also described as follows. First, the distribution request transfer unit 120 receives a distribution request including the user identifier UI from the user terminal 102. Second, the distribution request transfer unit 120 replaces (replaces) the user identifier UI with the corresponding virtual user identifier VUI. Third, the distribution request transfer unit 120 transmits a distribution request including the virtual user identifier VUI to the information distribution server 103 instead of the user identifier UI.

  The distribution request including the user identifier UI is hereinafter referred to as a distribution request DRU (Delivery Request UI). The distribution request including the virtual user identifier VUI is hereinafter referred to as a distribution request DRV (Delivery Request VUI).

=== Distribution Information Transfer Unit 130 ===
The distribution information transfer unit 130 transmits distribution information received from the information distribution server 103 (transmitted by the information distribution server 103) to the user (user terminal 102) corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI.

  When the distribution information includes a virtual user identifier VUI, the distribution information transfer unit 130 may replace the virtual user identifier VUI with the user identifier UI and transmit the replaced distribution information.

  Thereafter, the distribution information transfer unit 130 receives the distribution information received from the information distribution server 103 by DIS (Delivery Information Server), and the distribution information transfer unit 130 transmits the distribution information transmitted to the user terminal 102 by the distribution information DIT (Delivery Information Terminal). Call it.

  For example, the distribution information transfer unit 130, based on the correspondence between the user identifier UI included in the distribution request DRU and the virtual user identifier VUI included in the distribution request DRV, the distribution information DIS that is a response to the distribution request DRV. The virtual user identifier VUI is replaced with the user identifier UI. In this case, the privacy protection device 100 may store the distribution request DRU and the corresponding distribution request DRV in a storage unit (not shown).

  For example, the distribution information transfer unit 130 transmits the distribution information DIT to the user who transmitted the distribution request DRU among the users corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI. Here, the user is equivalent to the user terminal 102 operated by the user. In other words, the distribution information transfer unit 130 transmits the distribution information DIT to a specific user selected based on the distribution request DRU among the users corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI.

  Further, the distribution information transfer unit 130 may transmit the distribution information DIT to each of the users corresponding to the virtual user identifier VUI.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer 700 that implements the privacy protection device 100 according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the computer 700 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 701, a storage unit 702, a storage device 703, and a communication unit 706. Furthermore, the computer 700 includes a recording medium (or storage medium) 707 supplied from the outside. The recording medium 707 may be a non-volatile recording medium that stores information non-temporarily.

  The CPU 701 controls the overall operation of the computer 700 by operating an operating system (not shown). The CPU 701 reads a program and data from a recording medium 707 mounted on the storage device 703, for example, and writes the read program and data to the storage unit 702. Here, the program is, for example, a program that causes the computer 700 to execute operations of flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10, 13, and 16 described later.

  The CPU 701 executes various processes as the virtual user generation unit 110, the distribution request transfer unit 120, and the distribution information transfer unit 130 illustrated in FIG. 1 according to the read program and based on the read data.

  Note that the CPU 701 may download a program and data to the storage unit 702 from an external computer (not shown) connected to a communication network (not shown).

  The storage unit 702 stores programs and data. For example, the storage unit 702 may store the behavior information AI 801 illustrated in FIG. 4, the behavior feature table 802 illustrated in FIG. 5, and the user feature table 803 illustrated in FIG. Furthermore, the storage unit 702 may store a mapping table 804 shown in FIG. 7, a mapping table 805 shown in FIG. 8, a mapping table 806 shown in FIG.

  The storage device 703 is, for example, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a magnetic optical disk, an external hard disk, and a semiconductor memory, and includes a recording medium 707. The storage device 703 (recording medium 707) stores the program in a computer-readable manner. For example, the storage device 703 may store the behavior information AI 801 illustrated in FIG. 4, the behavior feature table 802 illustrated in FIG. 5, and the user feature table 803 illustrated in FIG. 6. Furthermore, the storage device 703 may store a mapping table 804 shown in FIG. 7, a mapping table 805 shown in FIG. 8, a mapping table 806 shown in FIG.

  The communication unit 706 realizes an interface with the user terminal 102 and the information distribution server 103, for example. The communication unit 706 may be included as part of the virtual user generation unit 110, the distribution request transfer unit 120, and the distribution information transfer unit 130.

  As described above, the functional unit block of the privacy protection device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the computer 700 having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. However, the means for realizing each unit included in the computer 700 is not limited to the above. In other words, the computer 700 may be realized by one physically coupled device, or may be realized by two or more physically separated devices connected by wire or wirelessly and by a plurality of these devices. .

  A recording medium 707 in which the above-described program code is recorded may be supplied to the computer 700, and the CPU 701 may read and execute the program code stored in the recording medium 707. Alternatively, the CPU 701 may store the code of the program stored in the recording medium 707 in the storage unit 702, the storage device 703, or both. That is, the present embodiment includes an embodiment of a recording medium 707 that stores a program (software) executed by the computer 700 (CPU 701) temporarily or non-temporarily.

  This completes the description of each hardware component of the computer 700 that implements the privacy protection device 100 according to the present embodiment.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, an operation in which the virtual user generation unit 110 analyzes behavior information and generates a virtual user will be described.

=== Behavior Information AI 801 ===
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the behavior information AI 801. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the behavior information AI 801 includes a set of a user identifier UI and a behavior content AS (Activity Substance).

=== Behavior Feature Table 802 ===
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the behavior feature table 802. As shown in FIG. 5, the behavior feature table 802 includes a set of a behavior content AS and a preference feature (also simply referred to as a feature) PS (Preference Substance). The preference feature PS is represented by a feature identifier (eg, “feature 1”) indicating the type of preference (feature) corresponding to the action content AS and a feature amount (eg, “0.40”). The type of preference is, for example, the genre (for example, fashion, sports, gourmet, etc.) and the detailed classification (for example, sports) of the object in the action content AS (“product A” in FIG. 5). The item may be arbitrarily defined. In addition, the feature amount may be a value defined according to an action on the target object in the action content AS (“reference” in the case of FIG. 5). The preference feature PS may be any information that can be analyzed regardless of the above.

=== User Feature Table 803 ===
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user feature table 803. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the user feature table 803 includes a set of a user identifier UI and a preference feature PS.

=== Mapping tables 804, 805, 806 ===
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mapping table 804. As shown in FIG. 7, the mapping table 804 includes a set of a plurality of user identifiers UI and virtual user identifiers VUI. The mapping table 804 indicates a virtual user identifier VUI corresponding to a group including a plurality of user identifier UIs (users).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mapping table 805. As shown in FIG. 8, the mapping table 805 includes a set of a plurality of user identifiers UI and a plurality of virtual user identifiers VUI. The mapping table 805 indicates a plurality of virtual user identifiers VUI corresponding to a group including a plurality of user identifiers UI (users).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the mapping table 806. As shown in FIG. 9, the mapping table 806 includes a set of an access destination, a plurality of user identifiers UI, and one or a plurality of virtual user identifiers VUI. The mapping table 806 indicates one or a plurality of virtual user identifiers VUI corresponding to a group including a plurality of user identifiers UI (users) for each access destination.

=== Operation of Virtual User Generation Unit 110 ===
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the virtual user generation unit 110. Note that the processing according to this flowchart may be executed based on the program control by the CPU 701 described above. Further, the step name of the process is described by a symbol as in step S601.

  The virtual user generation unit 110 receives behavior information AI 801 from the user terminal 102. For example, the virtual user generation unit 110 receives the behavior information AI 801 via the communication unit 706 illustrated in FIG. 3 (step S601).

  Next, the virtual user generation unit 110 generates or updates the user feature table 803 based on the received behavior information AI 801 and the behavior feature table 802 (step S602).

  Next, the virtual user generation unit 110 analyzes the user feature table 803 and generates a mapping table 804, a mapping table 805, or a mapping table 806 (step S603).

  For example, first, the virtual user generation unit 110 plots a preference feature point for each user identifier UI with a feature amount of the preference feature PS in a feature space with the feature identifier of the preference feature PS as an axis. Second, the virtual user generation unit 110 calculates the distance between the favorite feature points of the user identifier UI in the feature space. Thirdly, the virtual user generation unit 110 groups a plurality of user identifiers UI (collecting user identifiers UI having relatively close distances) based on the distance. Fourth, the virtual user generation unit 110 assigns a virtual user identifier VUI to the group.

  Although the specific calculation is omitted, referring to FIG. 6, the distance between the feature points of the user having the user identifier UI “U001” and the user having the user identifier UI “U002” is relatively small. Similarly, the distance between feature points between a user with a user identifier UI “U003” and a user with a user identifier UI “U004”, a user with a user identifier UI “U005”, and a user with a user identifier UI “U006” The distance between feature points is also relatively small. For example, based on the information as described above, the virtual user generation unit 110 sets “V001” for “U001” and “U002”, “V002” for “U003” and “U004”, and “U005”. A mapping table 804 in which “V003” is assigned to “U006” is generated.

  The virtual user generation unit 110 may generate the mapping table 805 in the same manner. For example, when the above-described distances are close in the user identifier UIs “U001”, “U002”, and “U003”, the virtual user generation unit 110 groups the three user identifiers UI. Then, the virtual user generation unit 110 assigns “V001”, “V011”, and “V021” to the group as the virtual user identifier VUI.

  In addition, the virtual user generation unit 110 may generate the mapping table 806 in the same manner. For example, the virtual user generation unit 110, for example, when the virtual user generation unit 110 has the above-mentioned distances in the user identifier UI “U001”, “U002”, and “U003” and the access destination is “URL001” The three user identifiers UI are grouped. Then, the virtual user generation unit 110 assigns “V001”, “V011”, and “V021” to the group as the virtual user identifier VUI.

  The operation of the virtual user generation unit 110 has been described above.

  Next, an operation in which the distribution request transfer unit 120 transfers a distribution request will be described.

=== Delivery Request DRU 811 ===
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the distribution request DRU 811. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the distribution request DRU 811 includes a user identifier UI and request contents (for example, “new product information”).

=== Delivery Request DRV812 ===
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the distribution request DRV812. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the distribution request DRV 812 includes a virtual user identifier VUI and request contents included in the distribution request DRU 811.

=== Operation of Distribution Request Transfer Unit 120 ===
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the distribution request transfer unit 120.

  First, the distribution request transfer unit 120 receives the distribution request DRU 811 from the user terminal 102 (step S611).

  Second, the distribution request transfer unit 120 generates a distribution request DRV 812 in which the user identifier UI included in the received distribution request DRU 811 is replaced with the corresponding virtual user identifier VUI based on the mapping table 804 (Step S1). S612). The mapping table referred to by the distribution request transfer unit 120 may be the mapping table 805 or the mapping table 806 instead of the mapping table 804. At this time, the distribution request transfer unit 120 may store the user identifier UI and the virtual user identifier VUI in, for example, the storage unit 702 illustrated in FIG.

  Thirdly, the distribution request transfer unit 120 transmits the generated distribution request DRV812 to the information distribution server 103 (step S613).

  The above is the description of the operation of the distribution request transfer unit 120.

Next, the operation in which distribution information transfer unit 130 transfers distribution information will be described.
=== Distribution Information DIS813 ===
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the distribution information DIS813. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the distribution information DIS 813 includes a virtual user identifier VUI and information content (for example, “product D sale”).

=== Distribution Information DIT 814 ===
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the distribution information DIT 814. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the distribution information DIT 814 includes a user identifier UI and information content included in the distribution information DIS 813.

=== Operation of Distribution Information Transfer Unit 130 ===
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the distribution request transfer unit 130.

  First, the distribution information transfer unit 130 receives distribution information DIS813 from the information distribution server 103 (step S621).

  Secondly, the distribution information transfer unit 130 generates distribution information DIT 814 by replacing the virtual user identifier VUI included in the received distribution information DIS 813 with the corresponding user identifier UI (step S622). In this case, the distribution information transfer unit 130 may replace the virtual user identifier VUI with the corresponding user identifier UI based on the preceding distribution request DRU811. Here, “based on the preceding distribution request DRU 811” is, for example, “based on the user identifier UI and the virtual user identifier VUI stored in the storage unit 702 by the distribution request transfer unit 120”.

  If the distribution information DIS received from the information distribution server 103 does not include the virtual user identifier VUI, the distribution information transfer unit 130 skips the process of replacing the virtual user identifier VUI with the corresponding user identifier UI in step S622. To do.

  Thirdly, the distribution information transfer unit 130 transmits the generated distribution information DIT 814 to the user terminal 102 (step S623).

  The operation of the distribution information transfer unit 130 has been described above.

  Next, the operation of the information distribution system 101 of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram of the information distribution system 101 showing the internal configuration of each component shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, a dotted line shows a data flow (information and instruction flow) related to behavior information. A one-dot chain line indicates a data flow related to a distribution request. A solid line indicates a data flow related to information distribution.

  FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating a data flow of the behavior information AI of the information distribution system 101.

  The action information collection process of the user terminal 102 collects action information AI as needed and stores it in the action information DB (steps S631 to 633, step S636, and step S637).

  The behavior information transmission process of the user terminal 102 reads the behavior information AI accumulated in the behavior information DB as needed or based on a request from the privacy protection device 100 (steps S634 and S638). Next, the behavior information transmission process transmits the read behavior information AI to the privacy protection device 100 (steps S635 and S639).

  The virtual user generation unit 110 of the privacy protection device 100 generates one of the mapping tables 804-806 based on the received behavior information AI (this step is not shown).

  FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing a data flow of a distribution request and information distribution of the information distribution system 101.

  The information distribution application of the user terminal 102 transmits a distribution request DRU to the distribution request transfer unit 120 of the privacy protection apparatus 100, for example, according to a user operation or periodically (step S641).

  Next, the distribution request transfer unit 120 that has received the distribution request DRU generates a distribution request DRV based on the distribution request DRU and transmits it to the information distribution server 103 (step S642).

  Next, the information distribution request receiving unit of the information distribution server 103 that has received the distribution request DRV outputs the distribution request DRV to the distribution information recommendation unit of the information distribution server 103 (step S643).

  At the same time, the information distribution request receiving unit that has received the distribution request DRV outputs the distribution request DRV to the user behavior learning unit of the information distribution server 103 (step S644).

  The user behavior learning unit updates the information recommendation rule DB of the information distribution server 103 based on the received distribution request DRV (this step is not shown). In other words, the user behavior learning unit of the information distribution server 103 learns the user behavior based on the distribution request DRV.

  Next, the distribution information recommendation unit determines the information content to be distributed based on the distribution request DRV, and outputs the determination result to the distribution information transmission unit of the information distribution server 103 (step S645).

  Next, the distribution information transmission unit generates distribution information DIS and transmits it to the privacy protection device 100 (step S646).

  Next, the distribution request transfer unit 130 of the privacy protection device 100 that has received the distribution information DIS generates the distribution information DIT based on the distribution information DIS and transmits it to the user terminal 102. (Step S647).

  Note that the distribution information recommendation unit of the information distribution server 103 outputs the information content to the distribution information transmission unit at any timing (that is, the operation of step S645) regardless of the presence or absence of the distribution request DRV in step S643. Good. Here, the arbitrary timing is a timing at which the recommendation information DB of the information distribution server 103 is updated, a predetermined specific time, or the like.

  The first effect of the present embodiment described above is that it is possible to reduce the possibility of infringing on user privacy in information distribution.

  This is because the following configuration is included. That is, first, the virtual user generation unit 110 generates one of the mapping tables 804-806 based on the behavior information AI. Second, the distribution request transfer unit 120 replaces the user identifier UI and the virtual user identifier VUI based on one of the mapping tables 804-806.

  The second effect of the present embodiment described above is that it is possible to reduce the possibility of infringing on the privacy of the user under more precise control in information distribution.

  The reason is that the virtual user generation unit 110 corresponds the number of users included in the plurality of users to the desired anonymity.

  The third effect of the present embodiment described above is that the information distribution server 103 can obtain information effective for user behavior learning that shows features as a user group while concealing the features of individual users. is there.

  The reason is that the virtual user generation unit 110 groups users having similar characteristics.

  The fourth effect of the present embodiment described above is that the distribution request DRUs from a plurality of user terminals 102 can be processed in parallel.

  The reason is that the virtual user generation unit 110 generates a plurality of virtual user identifiers VUI corresponding to a plurality of users.

<<< Second Embodiment >>>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, the description overlapping with the above description is omitted as long as the description of the present embodiment is not obscured.

  The configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the configuration of the privacy protection device 100 shown in FIG. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the operation of the virtual user generation unit 110.

  The virtual user generation unit 110 extracts a plurality of user groups whose characteristics are relatively similar. Next, the virtual user generation unit 110 generates a corresponding virtual user identifier VUI with the users included in any combination of the extracted groups as the plurality of users.

  In this case, the virtual user generation unit 110 may calculate a feature corresponding to each of the plurality of groups, and a user included in a combination of groups in which the feature has a predetermined relationship may be a plurality of users. The feature corresponding to the group may be a sum of the features of users included in the group or an average. Further, the predetermined relationship may be the size of the distance in the feature space (described above) of each feature corresponding to the group.

  The virtual user identifier VUI corresponding to the plurality of users may be one or plural as in the first embodiment. The virtual user identifier VUI may be further generated for each access destination.

  The effect in this embodiment mentioned above is a point which makes it possible to further reduce the possibility of privacy infringement in addition to the effect of the first embodiment.

  The reason is that the virtual user generation unit 110 generates virtual user identifiers VUI corresponding to users included in a plurality of groups corresponding to different features as the plurality of users.

  Each component described in each of the above embodiments does not necessarily have to be individually independent. For example, each component may be realized as a module with a plurality of components. In addition, each component may be realized by a plurality of modules. Each component may be configured such that a certain component is a part of another component. Each component may be configured such that a part of a certain component overlaps a part of another component.

  In the embodiments described above, each component and a module that realizes each component may be realized as hardware as necessary. Moreover, each component and the module which implement | achieves each component may be implement | achieved by a computer and a program. Each component and a module that realizes each component may be realized by mixing hardware modules, computers, and programs.

  The program is provided by being recorded in a non-volatile computer-readable recording medium such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory, and is read by the computer when the computer is started up. The read program causes the computer to function as a component in each of the above-described embodiments by controlling the operation of the computer.

  Further, in each of the embodiments described above, a plurality of operations are described in order in the form of a flowchart, but the described order does not limit the order in which the plurality of operations are executed. For this reason, when each embodiment is implemented, the order of the plurality of operations can be changed within a range that does not hinder the contents.

  Furthermore, in each embodiment described above, a plurality of operations are not limited to being executed at different timings. For example, another operation may occur during the execution of a certain operation, or the execution timing of a certain operation and another operation may partially or entirely overlap.

  Furthermore, in each of the embodiments described above, a certain operation is described as a trigger for another operation, but the description does not limit all relationships between the certain operation and the other operations. For this reason, when each embodiment is implemented, the relationship between the plurality of operations can be changed within a range that does not hinder the contents. The specific description of each operation of each component does not limit each operation of each component. For this reason, each specific operation | movement of each component may be changed in the range which does not cause trouble with respect to a functional, performance, and other characteristic in implementing each embodiment.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with reference to each embodiment and an Example, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment and Example. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Privacy protection apparatus 101 Information distribution system 102 User terminal 103 Information distribution server 110 Virtual user production | generation part 120 Distribution request transfer part 130 Distribution information transfer part 700 Computer 701 CPU
702 Storage unit 703 Storage device 706 Communication unit 707 Recording medium 801 Action information AI
802 Action feature table 803 User feature table 804 Mapping table 805 Mapping table 806 Mapping table 811 Distribution request DRU
812 Distribution request DRV
813 Distribution information DIS
814 Distribution information DIT

Claims (15)

Virtual user generating means for generating virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users based on the behavior information;
A distribution request transfer means for specifying the user included in the distribution request, replacing a user identifier with the virtual user identifier corresponding to the user, and transmitting the replaced distribution request;
Distribution information transfer means for transmitting distribution information transmitted from a server to a user corresponding to the virtual user identifier;
An information processing apparatus including: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual user generation unit determines the plurality of users based on characteristics for each user calculated based on the behavior information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the virtual user generation unit sets the users whose characteristics are relatively similar to each other as the plurality of users. The virtual user generating means extracts a plurality of groups including the users whose features are relatively similar, and sets the users included in the extracted groups as the plurality of users. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information corresponding to each of the extracted groups has a predetermined relationship. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual user generation unit increases the number of users included in the plurality of users as the desired anonymity is higher. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual user generation unit generates a plurality of the virtual identifiers corresponding to the plurality of users. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the distribution request transfer unit randomly replaces the user identifier with the virtual user identifier in an unused state of any of the plurality of virtual user identifiers. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual user generation unit generates the virtual user identifier for each access destination corresponding to the distribution request. The distribution information transfer means transmits the distribution information to the specific user selected based on the distribution request among the users corresponding to the virtual user identifier. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the distribution information transfer unit transmits the distribution information to each of the users corresponding to the virtual user identifier. The distribution information transfer means, when the virtual user identifier is included in the distribution information, replaces the virtual user identifier with the user identifier and transmits the replaced distribution information. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 11. Computer
Based on the behavior information, generate virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users,
Identifying the user included in the distribution request, replacing the user identifier with the virtual user identifier corresponding to the user, and transmitting the replaced distribution request,
A privacy protection method of transmitting distribution information received from a server to a user corresponding to the virtual user identifier. Based on the behavior information, generate virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users,
Identifying the user included in the distribution request, replacing the user identifier with the virtual user identifier corresponding to the user, and transmitting the replaced distribution request,
A program for causing a computer corresponding to the virtual user identifier to execute processing for transmitting distribution information received from a server. Virtual user generating means for generating virtual user identifiers corresponding to a plurality of users based on the behavior information;
A distribution request transfer means for specifying the user included in the distribution request, replacing a user identifier with the virtual user identifier corresponding to the user, and transmitting the replaced distribution request;
Distribution information transfer means for transmitting distribution information received from a server to a user corresponding to the virtual user identifier;
User behavior learning means for learning the user's behavior based on the changed delivery request;
Including information distribution system.

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