January 29, 2004

Protect Privacy By Limiting List Brokerage

EPIC Associate Director Chris Hoofnagle argues in the San Francisco Chronicle that privacy would best be protected if a framework of rights existed to limit list brokerage. List brokers sell collections of personal information to direct mailers, spammers, and telemarketers. They are the primary source for invasive marketing in the daily life of Americans, and currently, no federal law restricts their practices.

List brokers sell information on children, people with medical conditions, financial information, and lifestyle information. This sale is done without even notice to the individuals affected by the practice.

Barriers to the Constitutional Right to Privacy
Big Business is keeping an eye on you
San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2004