Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!airs!ian
From: ian@airs.UUCP (Ian Lance Taylor)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Citizens of the City of Mind
Message-ID: <1225@airs.UUCP>
Date: 16 Mar 91 18:38:46 GMT
References: <3622.27d4c133@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> <1991Mar11.070712.4223@cs.ucla.edu> <3778.27dd2150@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com>
Reply-To: airs!ian@uunet.uu.net (Ian Lance Taylor)
Organization: AIRS, Waltham, MA
Lines: 49

In article <3778.27dd2150@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com (daniel lance herrick) writes:
>In article <1991Mar11.070712.4223@cs.ucla.edu>, gast@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (David Gast) writes:
>> 
>> Anyway, when did I ever make Equifax my agent and ask them to sell info
>> about me?
>> 
>You freely gave information that is valuable and Equifax is selling
>it as the agent of the person you gave it to or as their own agent.

While the information is freely given, it is easy to not be aware that
you are giving out information, and it is hard to become aware, after
the fact, that you have given it out.  This could be considered a
hazard of living in this society, but I would just as soon eliminate
the hazard.

This is some information extracted from a post to comp.risks (11.28)
quoting a Wall Street Journal article (14 Mar 1991, p. A1;A8).  (If
you don't read comp.risks, you should check it out; if you don't get
news, you can get on the mailing lists by sending to
RISKS-Request@CSL.SRI.COM).  The posting to comp.risks was made by
Mary Culnan (mculnan@guvax.georgetown.edu).  The rest of this post is
quoted from hers (apologies to people who will see it twice).

Specific lists cited in the article include:

* Metromail's "Young Family Index Plus" which lists about 67,000
new births each week compiled from clipped birth announcements,
referrals from Lamaze coaches and names acquired from companies that
deal in baby supplies

* America List Corp sells lists based on high school yearbook listings
about virtually every high school class in the U.S.

* Benadryl bought names and addresses (based on phone numbers sold
to them) of people calling an 800 number for pollen count information

* The Big 3 credit bureaus sell mailing lists based on aggregated
credit data, e.g. "Credit Seekers Hotline" of people who recently
applied for credit and are "prospects who want to make new purchases"

Finally, an Atlanta-based company which prepares marketing questionnaires asks
if there has been a recent death in the family.  The company's President is
quoted, "Death has always been a negative life style change nobody thought
could be sold, but I differ.  I think it's a very good market."
-- 
Ian Taylor               airs!ian@uunet.uu.net                uunet!airs!ian
Quoted from a courtroom deposition in the Boston Globe of February 18, 1991:
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies have been on dead people.