Privacy
Commercial listbrokers have targeted our nation’s children. They actually sell lists of the names and personal information of children as young as two years of age. For example, the Student Marketing Group sells a list ofPreschool children between the ages of 2 and 5, its website boasts.Each record includes the child's full name, address, and age and can include other information, such as gender and telephone number (http://www.studentmarketing.net/dataserv.htm). American Student List sells a list ofOver 20 million students ranging in age from 2-13, (http://www.studentlist.com/products/index.shtml) according to its website.
The sale of children’s personal information by listbrokers is despicable and dangerous. Children are naturally more trusting than adults, and that trust is often easy to exploit. Legislation proposed by U.S. Senators Wyden and Stevens (S. 2160) would restore to parents the ability to protect the privacy of their own children, especially from sleazy corporate marketers and child predators.
Children's personal information should not be for sale.
More Information
News Releases
TV Station Bought Personal Info of 3000 Kids in Name of Accused Child Killer
Gary Ruskin | March 10th, 2004
U.S. Senate Bill Would Stop Companies from Violating Children’s Privacy
Gary Ruskin | March 3rd, 2004
Articles
Letter to U.S. Senators in support of Children's Listbroker Protection Act
Gary Ruskin | March 4th, 2004
Related Articles and Links
Related Articles
Ad Groups Challenge FTC Guidelines
Mike Beirne | AdWeek | April 18th, 2008
A Company Promises the Deepest Data Mining Yet
Louise Story | The New York Times | March 20th, 2008
Comcast Cameras to Start Watching You?
Chris Albrecht | NewTeeVee | March 18th, 2008
YuMe Bolsters Online Video Ad Platform
Richard Martin | Information Week | February 12th, 2008
Nielsen to Track Online Video Use Through Its TV Panel
Brian Steinberg | Advertising Age | February 11th, 2008
Couch to Supermarket: Connecting Dots
Stephanie Kang | Wall Street Journal | February 11th, 2008
Portrait of a Young Consumer
Jessica Vosgerchian | Michigan Daily | January 30th, 2008
New Options Arm Docs Who Say, 'Don't use my Rx data'
Marc Iskowitz | Medical Marketing & Media | January 24th, 2008
Aim High: Ad Targeting Moves to the Next Level
Brian Morrissey | Adweek | January 14th, 2008
Facebook challenged by ad-free rival
Mark Sweney | Guardian Unlimited (UK) | December 24th, 2007
Ad plans for Web run into privacy issues
Byron Acohido | USA Today | December 23rd, 2007
Boost children's self-esteem, curb 'gimme' attitude
Julie Deardorff | Chicago Tribune | December 23rd, 2007
FTC Issues Online Ad Privacy Guidelines
Dibya Sarkar | Associated Press | December 22nd, 2007
Lawmaker Presses Google For Answers on Privacy Issue
Corey Boles | Wall Street Journal | December 13th, 2007
Hear Voices? It May Be an Ad
Andrew Hampp | Advertising Age | December 10th, 2007
Apologetic, Facebook Changes Ad Program
Louise Story | New York Times | December 6th, 2007
Watching What You See on the Web
Bobby White | Wall Street Journal | December 6th, 2007
Facebook's Beacon Ad System Also Tracks Non-Facebook Users
Juan Carlos Perez | PC World | December 3rd, 2007
Facebook adjusts ad platform after privacy protest
Agence France-Presse | December 1st, 2007
More Web Surfing Data Helps Ad Targeting
Anick Jesdanun | Associated Press | December 1st, 2007
Facebook's Tracking of User Activity Riles Privacy Advocates, Members
Vauhini Vara | Wall Street Journal | November 21st, 2007
Hackers Use Banner Ads on Major Sites to Hijack Your PC
Betsy Schiffman | Wired | November 15th, 2007
The EU Delays Google's Ad Buy
Catherine Holahan | Businessweek | November 14th, 2007
MySpace, Facebook ad plans violate privacy, groups tell FTC
Computerworld | November 13th, 2007
New Facebook ad system raises privacy concerns
Heather Havenstein | Computerworld | November 9th, 2007
Ad Network Identifies Influencers
Brian Morrissey | Adweek | November 6th, 2007
Facebook Rolls Out Highly Targeted Viral Ad System
Terrence Russell | Wired | November 6th, 2007
MySpace Will Let Users Aim Advertising at Site Members
Joseph Menn | Los Angeles Times | November 5th, 2007
Firm Mines Offline Data To Target Online Ads
Kevin J. Delany and Emily Steel | Wall Street Journal | October 17th, 2007
Dumb Regulators To Legalize Bluetooth Spam
Rob Beschizza | Wired | October 10th, 2007
Nielsen to Track Video Game Use
Alex Pham | Los Angeles Times | July 3rd, 2007
The Sell-Phone Revolution
Catherine Holahan | Business Week | April 18th, 2007
Another Data Broker Reports a Breach
Tom Zeller, Jr. | New York Times | March 10th, 2005
Companies Sell Details on Millions of Children
Jolayne Houtz | Seattle Times | July 6th, 2004
Internet Lists Pose Risk to Kids
Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer | March 31st, 2004
Protecting Children's Privacy
Christian Science Monitor | March 11th, 2004
Senators: Hands Off Kids Data
Kim Zetter | Wired | March 4th, 2004
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden's floor statement on the introduction of the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden | March 3rd, 2004
Holding the Reins in Marketing to Youth
David Koeppel | New York Times | February 17th, 2002
Name, Please: Surveyor Quietly Sells Student Information to Youth Marketer
Daniel Golden | Wall Street Journal | December 3rd, 2001
Students' Names Can End Up in Some Questionable Hands
Daniel Golden | Wall Street Journal | December 3rd, 2001
External Links
Electronic Privacy Information Center
High School Student Survey Companies Settle FTC Charges; Personal Data Collected For Educational Purposes Was Sold to Commercial Marketers
Federal Trade Commission | October 2, 2002