I don’t think they did this intentionally, or at least explicitly, but because of corporate ineptitude. Someone’s job was to merge data sources, and the boneheaded implications of this got through all layers of management and design review without any grownups stopping them.
If that seems implausible, I invite you to work at a bank for a few months. It’s… informative.
Ok so now that this has been widely reported, we know that glassdoor are rolling it back promptly and publishing an apology and confirmation of this on their website, right? Right?
No, they have responded to the press and on the record that this is all wonderful, nothing to see here, they love their users' privacy and are kicking corpo ass in court to avoid disclosing names behind anonymous user feedback:
To a user:
"I stand behind the decision that your name has to be placed on your profile and it cannot be reverted back to just your initials or nullified/anonymized from the platform," Glassdoor's manager wrote, confirming that Monica's case was now considered closed. "I am sorry that we disagree on this issue. We treat all users equally when it comes to what is eligible to be placed on the profile and what is not, but we know that there are times our users, such as yourself, may not always agree with us."
To the press:
"When a user provides information, either during the sign-up process or by uploading a resume, that information will automatically cross-populate between all Glassdoor services, including our community app Fishbowl," Glassdoor's spokesperson said. "When using Glassdoor and Fishbowl, there is always the option to remain anonymous. Users can choose to be fully anonymous or reveal elements of their identity, like company name or job title, while using our community service."
And:
Glassdoor's spokesperson told Ars that "Glassdoor is committed to providing a platform for people to share their opinions and experiences about their jobs and companies, anonymously—without fear of intimidation or retaliation."
"We vigorously defend our users’ right to anonymous free speech and will appear in court to oppose and defeat requests for user information," Glassdoor's spokesperson said. "In fact, courts have almost always ruled in favor of Glassdoor and its users when we’ve fought to protect their anonymity. With the addition of Fishbowl’s community features to Glassdoor, our commitment to user privacy remains ironclad, and we will continue to defend our users from employers who seek to unmask their identity."
As someone with a Gmail address that is my last name, I was signed up for Ashley Madison by a bot, and when I started getting the emails they wanted extortion money to delete it.
The leak of that information had impact on my life. As Glassdoor forced you to submit reviews or salary information to view reviews, a breach is a professional risk.
This type of claim simply doesn't matter with data breaches.
Nearly every large company is completely dysfunctional due to being captured by the professional managerial class, a group of people who's only skill is to resist all change that brings value to shareholders, customers or employees while allocating resources to things that are harmful to shareholders, customers and employees.
If that seems implausible, I invite you to work at a bank for a few months. It’s… informative.