Re: Selling customer information to a third party

From: Marion Stearns <Tinybiz_at_webtv.net>
Date: Mon 20 Dec 2004 09:14:25 -0600

Bill Glazer wrote:

>I am in the midst of licensing some content
>to another site in exchange for a link. Their lawyer now tells me that I
>cannot sell information I collect from their customers to
>a third party. I explained that I do not at present sell info to a third
>party but I may in the future. Anyway, how will I know where they are
>coming from. I get people filling out my form for a free update from
>many sources. I have also told them that I am willing to put in a very
>clear privacy policy that states that people filling out the form give
>me explicit permission to give their info to people I deem suitable.  
>Are they unreasonable? Or am I missing something here.
>Is it even a law that you need a privacy policy?

Yes, Bill....you do need a privacy policy and quite a few more things,
like disclaimers and Children's Privacy Act Disclaimer Notice. You
could possibly get into real big trouble with the Federal Trade
Commission and The Can Spam Law, if you were observed or reported, by a
disgrunted client OR your competition. Fines start at $11,000 bucks per
violation, including violations in ad copy and on websites. I have an
ezine dedicated to Friendly Ad Tips-tips on the FTC.....education is a
must. You need this info even if you refuse this partner offer.

Check out ( www.ftc.gov ) - look up privacy disclaimers and Rules of the
Road. Check
out the FAQ's for business advertising. I CAN assist your with info in
these areas and also with more detailed answers about selling info,
traffic and names. We'd need to be very clear about the nature of your
business and how you get names and personal information. I DO notify
people about our 3rd party contacts and my 2 co-registration sites do
sell names that come to us from JV partner sites. I have a Circle of
Ezines - 26 of them and we also need frequent sub replacement. Everyone
understands how we operate (carefully) and we monitor everything. We
also guarantee this work.

We DO know where our names come from;
We recruit JV partners. You really should
have a list of the places where you have forms and track where the info
is coming from. New changes came out today with the Can Spam
Laws.....I'll grill that info tonight but since changes were made, I
won't comment on this now. You can email me at the above email
address...my writing inbox, if you need help with any of this. I can
easily be reached here.
It's too risky to accept names without knowing where they came from.

At this time, we do re-sell traffic from a referred provider. We're
kinda new in traffic and we DO sell it. We want to be able to provide
our own services because our experience has been that the customer
service in these fields, leaves a lot to be desired. With our welcome
letter, it's actually a double opt-in process. We offer double and
single names. We haven't had any problems.

Rob was right. It sounds like you're dealing
with terms and conditions on a joint project.
If you violate those terms, you could possibly get email from a lawyer
and the FTC. We can't violate terms. The FTC says that terms and
conditions are not enough.....so you do need help in understanding what
is required.
I'll be happy to help with links that you can study. The future of our
businesses will rely on knowing the FTC, Can Spam and filter/blocking
issues.

Good luck...

I have to jab in a comment for Rob, Cliff and company. I learned a LOT
from them, the members and this list. These guys and gals
are some smart + helpful. Learning from this list, my ONLY list....I
expanded to 11 biz divisions, using member advice. I'm still learning.
When I subbed to this list, I didn't know very much. You're in good
hands here.

At YOUR Service,

Marion Stearns
mailto:admistress_at_flashyads.com
AMA Multi-Post Ezine Ads -- Not a co-op but
a Co-Option. Value Ads -- we just look very expensive.




Received on Mon Dec 20 2004 - 09:14:25 CST