Thread View: alt.aol-sucks
4 messages
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Started by dan
Thu, 24 Jul 1997 00:00
AOL to sell phone numbers to telemarketers
Author: dan
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 00:00
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 00:00
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Hey all, pass this one on. It was in Wednesday's Boston Globe.
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AOL to sell users' phone numbers
On-line firm to share lists with marketing partners
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 07/24/97
Customers of America Online Inc. soon may be getting
unwanted phone calls from telemarketers, thanks to a
decision by the
computer service company to sell the telephone numbers of
its 8
million subscribers to its marketing partners.
The new policy is revealed in a revised service contract for
AOL
customers. All users of the service must agree to the
contract when
they first sign up. But the contract runs to about 14
single-spaced
pages and routinely goes unread by customers. In addition,
AOL
can change the terms of the contract at any time. The
company told
customers that it was making the changes effective July 31.
But
AOL didn't offer a simple listing of key changes in the new
contract.
Only someone who read both the old and new contracts in
their
entirety would be likely to notice the difference.
That's what David Cassel did. Cassel, of Berkeley, Calif.,
is a
freelance writer and AOL critic who publishes an Internet
newsletter
featuring attacks on the company's policies. While
researching
AOL's policy on copyrighted material, Cassel read the new
service
contract and stumbled across the plan to sell customer phone
numbers.
Cassel says he's outraged that AOL hasn't specifically
notified its 8
million users about the policy change. ``Should they inform
the
members? Absolutely,'' said Cassel. ``It's slimy not to.''
David Banisar, staff counsel of the Electronic Privacy
Information
Center in Washington, said the AOL plan shows why the
federal
government should limit the customer information that
Internet
service providers can sell to other firms. Banisar supports
a bill
introduced in the House of Representatives by Minnesota
Democrat Bruce Vento. Under the Vento bill, AOL and other
Internet service providers would need permission from a
customer
before selling that customer's personal information to
anyone.
But AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose said that the new AOL
policy is no threat to customers' privacy. For one thing,
only
marketing firms with contractual relationships with AOL can
purchase the data. ``We are not providing member telephone
numbers to any telemarketer who wants them,'' said Primrose.
``What we are doing is providing telephone numbers to
companies
that we are partnering with.''
For example, AOL recently announced a partnership with CUC
International Inc., a Connecticut-based marketing firm. CUC
will sell
products to AOL subscribers through an on-line shopping
mall.
Primrose said that AOL will sell customer phone numbers to
CUC
for use in that company's telemarketing efforts.
In addition, Primrose said that AOL has always planned to
notify
customers before beginning the new policy. All AOL
subscribers
will be able to ask the company not to share their phone
numbers.
Ironically, AOL is currently in court battling with
mass-mailing firms
to protect its customers from unwanted junk e-mail.
Re: AOL tell phone numbers woins the "tarnished trophy award.
Author: Luigi Bagnato
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 00:00
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 00:00
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If anyone should understand the frustration of receiving JUNK e-mail and UNSOLICITED sales pitches it should be aol.com. Talk about biteing the hand that feeds you. First they insult subscribers by grossly overselling their capacity and now they want to "sock it to them." Ye gods-what a CRUMY way to do business. Congradulations AOL-You win the tarished tropy award! Luigi Bagnato
Re: AOL to sell phone numbers to telemarketers
Author: Matthew Palmer
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 00:00
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 00:00
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--------------3DD0F30C8F5890692AA47C09 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Customers of America Online Inc. soon may be getting > unwanted phone calls from telemarketers, thanks to a > decision by the computer service company to sell the telephone numbers of > its 8 million subscribers to its marketing partners. > AOL CANNOT sell any of your information if you have selected the option in Preferences which says that you don't want your details passed on. If I get around to it - I'll post a description of how to do this. -Matt (mpalmer262) --------------3DD0F30C8F5890692AA47C09 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <HTML> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <PRE>Customers of America Online Inc. soon may be getting unwanted phone calls from telemarketers, thanks to a decision by the computer service company to sell the telephone numbers of its 8 million subscribers to its marketing partners.</PRE> </BLOCKQUOTE> AOL <U>CANNOT</U> sell any of your information if you have selected the option in Preferences which says that you don't want your details passed on. If I get around to it - I'll post a description of how to do this. <P>-Matt (mpalmer262) <BR> </HTML> --------------3DD0F30C8F5890692AA47C09--
Re: AOL to sell phone numbers to telemarketers
Author: "Reb"๏ฟฝRuster
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 00:00
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 00:00
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On Mon, 28 Jul 1997 13:01:28 -0700, Matthew Palmer
<matthew.palmer@virgin.net> wrote:
>> Customers of America Online Inc. soon may be getting
>> unwanted phone calls from telemarketers, thanks to a
>> decision by the computer service company to sell the telephone numbers=
of
>> its 8 million subscribers to its marketing partners.
>>
>AOL CANNOT sell any of your information if you have selected the option
>in Preferences which says that you don't want your details passed on.
>If I get around to it - I'll post a description of how to do this.
>
>-Matt (mpalmer262)
Steve Case has already decided not to give any member information to
advertisers, even those associated with AOL.
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