THE ARROGANCE OF GATHERING CONSUMER PERSONAL DATA

MultichannelMerchant.com, which is part of Penton Publications, has said, in effect, that if the consumer won’t give up their private information, the junk mailer should go out and get it anywhere they can. Penton also owns Direct, a junk mail industry trade publications, with which I have disagreed on several occasions in the past. The procedure is called “enhancement,” a term that means the junk mailer has your name, address, telephone number, and credit card number, but wants to add to this your income, occupation, children in the household, what you owe on your home, whether you drink smoke or gamble, what you read, your ailments the medications you take, and the list can go on forever. Looking at Dictionary.com, “arrogance” is defined as an “offensive display of authority or self-importance; overbearing pride.” This is precisely the belief of junk mailers when it comes to their position on who owns your name and personal data. They do. You, the customer, have no right to argue with that, and the fact that the list industry grosses $4 billion each year from your name and private information. They’ve gotten away with it since the beginnings of junk mail, and will continue to do so if the American public does not stand up to this flagrant violation of your privacy and rights of compensation.