Support bill that stops companies fro m violating children’s privacy

Thu, 04 Mar 2004 08:23:35 -0800

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*Commercial Alert, March 4, 2004
*

Dear friends,

Yesterday, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Ted Stevens introduced 
legislation to prohibit corporations from selling the personal 
information of children below 16 years of age for commercial marketing 
purposes, without parental consent.

This legislation (S. 2160) is long overdue and badly needed.

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 of “Preschool 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 of “Over 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.  This bill 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.

Text of the legislation is available at: 
http://www.commercialalert.org/kidsprivacy.pdf. 

The children's privacy bill is a part of the Parents’ Bill of Rights, a 
package of legislation to help parents combat the commercial influences 
that prey upon their children and that promote products and values of 
which parents do not approve. The nine provisions of the Parents’ Bill 
of Rights (http:// 
<http://www.commercialalert.org/pbor.pdf>www.commercialalert.org/pbor.pdf 
<http://www.commercialalert.org/pbor.pdf>) would help right the balance 
between parents and the commercial culture and would enable parents to 
reduce the role of the latter in their children’s lives if they so choose.

Another provision in the Parent’s Bill of Rights, which would require 
fast food restaurant chains to disclose calorie and nutritional contents 
of their food, was introduced last month in the U.S. Senate by Senator 
Tom Harkin (S. 2108). It is called the Menu Education and Labeling Act.

Please see below for how you can help turn these two excellent Senate 
bills into law.

Best,

Gary Ruskin

P.S.: Last Friday, Commercial Alert had an op-ed in the Los Angeles 
Times opposing the sale of naming rights to the City of Los Angeles.  See: 
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ruskin27feb27,1,1451422,print.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

*WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP*:
Please call both your U.S. Senators today.  Ask them to co-sponsor both 
the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act (S. 2160) and the Menu Education 
and Labeling Act (S. 2108).

The congressional switchboard phone is 202-225-3121.  (We are asking 
people to make phone calls because they are more effective than emails.)

To find the names of your U.S. Senators, see 
<http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/>.

*BACKGROUND:
*For more information about how commercial listbrokers violate the 
privacy of children, see our children's privacy web page, at:  
http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/1/subcategory_id/84/article_id/216

Senator Wyden's excellent floor statement on the introduction of the 
Children's Listbroker Privacy Act is at: 
http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/external/true/article_id/224

For more information about the Parents' Bill of Rights, see: 
http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/1/subcategory_id/69/article_id/169

*ABOUT COMMERCIAL ALERT:*
Commercial Alert is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is 
to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent 
it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, 
community, environmental integrity and democracy. 

Commercial Alert has more than 2000 members, representing all 50 states 
and the District of Columbia. For more information, or to become a 
member, go to 
<https://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=3D2404-0%7C1236-0>, or 
visit our website at http://www.commercialalert.org.

Commercial Alert's materials are distributed via our email list. To 
subscribe, go to 
<http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert>, or send 
a blank message to <subscribe@commercialalert.org 
<mailto:subscribe@commercialalert.org>>. Subscribers receive 1-2 emails 
per week, at most.

-- 
Gary Ruskin | Executive Director | Commercial Alert
gary@commercialalert.org | http://www.commercialalert.org/
Congressional Accountability Project | http://www.congressproject.org/
phone: 503.235.8012 | fax: 503.235.5073

To subscribe to Commercial Alert's email list, go to
<http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert> 
or send a blank message to <subscribe@commercialalert.org>. 
Subscribers receive 1-2 emails per week.

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<st1:country-region><st1:place>Commercial
Alert, March 4, 2004 
</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Dear friends, 
<st1:country-region><st1:place></st1:place></st1:country-region>
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Yesterday, U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Senators Ron Wyden and Ted Stevens introduced legislation
to
prohibit corporations from selling the personal information of children
below
16 years of age for commercial marketing purposes, without parental
consent. 
 
This legislation (S. 2160) is long overdue and badly needed. 
 
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 of “Preschool 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
(<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
 href="http://www.studentmarketing.net/dataserv.htm">http://www.studentmarketing.net/dataserv.htm</a>).
American Student List sells a list of “Over 20 million students ranging
in age
from 2-13,” (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
 href="http://www.studentlist.com/products/index.shtml">http://www.studentlist.com/products/index.shtml</a>)
according to its
website.<o:p></o:p> 
 
The sale of children’s personal
information by listbrokers
is despicable and dangerous.  <o:p></o:p>Children
are naturally more trusting
than adults, and that
trust is often easy to exploit.  This bill 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. 
<o:p></o:p>Text of the legislation is available
at: <a href="http://www.commercialalert.org/kidsprivacy.pdf">http://www.commercialalert.org/kidsprivacy.pdf</a>.  <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>The children's privacy bill is a part
of the Parents’ Bill of
Rights, a package of legislation to help parents combat the commercial
influences that prey upon their children and that promote products and
values
of which parents do not approve.  The
nine provisions of the Parents’ Bill of Rights (<a
 href="http://www.commercialalert.org/pbor.pdf">http://</a><a
 href="http://www.commercialalert.org/pbor.pdf">www.commercialalert.org/pbor.pdf</a>)
would help right the balance between parents and the commercial culture
and
would enable parents to reduce the role of the latter in their
children’s lives
if they so choose.
<o:p></o:p>Another provision in the Parent’s Bill
of Rights, which would require
fast food restaurant chains to disclose calorie and nutritional
contents of
their food, was introduced last month in the U.S.
Senate by Senator Tom Harkin (S. 2108). It is called the Menu Education
and Labeling Act. 

Please see below for how you can
help turn these two excellent Senate bills into law. 

Best, 

Gary Ruskin 

P.S.: Last Friday, Commercial Alert
had an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times opposing the sale of naming
rights to the City of Los Angeles.  See:  
<a
 href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ruskin27feb27,1,1451422,print.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions">http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ruskin27feb27,1,1451422,print.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions</a>
<o:p></o:p>WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: 
Please call both your U.S. Senators today.  Ask them to co-sponsor both
the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act (S. 2160) and the Menu Education
and Labeling Act (S. 2108).
The congressional switchboard phone is
202-225-3121.  (We are asking people to make phone calls because they
are more effective than emails.) 

To
find the names of your U.S. Senators, see
&lt;<a href="http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/">http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/</a>&gt;.
BACKGROUND: 
For more information about how commercial listbrokers violate the
privacy of children, see our children's privacy web page, at:  <a
 href="http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/1/subcategory_id/84/article_id/216">http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/1/subcategory_id/84/article_id/216</a> 

Senator Wyden's excellent floor statement on the
introduction of the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act is at: <a
 href="http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/external/true/article_id/224">http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/external/true/article_id/224</a> 

For more information about the Parents' Bill of
Rights, see: <a
 href="http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/1/subcategory_id/69/article_id/169">http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/1/subcategory_id/69/article_id/169</a>
ABOUT COMMERCIAL
ALERT: 
Commercial Alert is
a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to keep the
commercial
culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting
children
and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental
integrity
and democracy.  <o:p></o:p>

Commercial Alert has
more than 2000 members, representing all 50 states and the <st1:state><st1:place>District of Columbia</st1:place></st1:state>. For more information, or to become a
member, go to &lt;<a
 href="https://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=3D2404-0%7C1236-0">https://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=3D2404-0%7C1236-0</a>&gt;,
or visit our website at <a href="http://www.commercialalert.org"
 class="moz-txt-link-freetext">http://www.commercialalert.org</a>.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>Commercial Alert's
materials are distributed via our email list. 
To subscribe, go to &lt;<a
 href="http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert">http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert</a>&gt;,
or send a blank message to &lt;<a
 href="mailto:subscribe@commercialalert.org">subscribe@commercialalert.org</a>&gt;.  Subscribers receive 1-2 emails per week, at
most.

<pre cols="72" class="moz-signature">-- 
Gary Ruskin | Executive Director | Commercial Alert
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
 href="mailto:gary@commercialalert.org">gary@commercialalert.org</a> | <a
 class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.commercialalert.org/">http://www.commercialalert.org/</a>
Congressional Accountability Project | <a
 class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.congressproject.org/">http://www.congressproject.org/</a>
phone: 503.235.8012 | fax: 503.235.5073

To subscribe to Commercial Alert's email list, go to
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
 href="http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert">&lt;http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/commercial-alert&gt;</a> 
or send a blank message to <a
 class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
 href="mailto:subscribe@commercialalert.org">&lt;subscribe@commercialalert.org&gt;</a>. 
Subscribers receive 1-2 emails per week.

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