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According to an internal memo, Maureen Govern will be temporarily replaced by AOL's former CTO John McKinley until a permanent replacement can be found.

Govern's department was responsible for the 7 August release of details of some 20 million keyword searches made by around 658,000 anonymous users over a three-month period. It was made available for academic or open source research purposes.

AOL has set up a task force to review its data collection and retention practices. Currently it stores anonymous data indefinitely; information that can identify users is kept for just 30 days.

The leaked data has been removed from its site, but is still available on the Internet.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is among privacy campaigners that have asked the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate the leak and has called on AOL to stop retaining personal data.

'Search terms can expose the most intimate details of a person's life - private information about your family problems, your medical history, your financial situation, your political and religious beliefs, your sexual preferences, and much more,' said EFF staff attorney Marcia Hofmann. 'At the very least, AOL should notify every customer whose privacy has been jeopardised by the company's careless handling of this incredibly private information, and AOL should not store this kind of data in the future when it doesn't have to.'