American Student List Settles Charges With FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has settled with American Student List and another firm over allegations of improperly selling student information for direct marketing purposes.

Also named in the settlement were the National Research Center for College and University Admissions and its principal, Don M. Munce.

The proposed consent agreements bars the firms from using previously collected student information for non-educational-related marketing purposes; from using data for non-educational-related marketing purposes unless they disclose how the data actually will be used; and bars further deceptive statements.

According to the FTC, the firms allegedly collected extensive personal information from millions of high school students through surveys claiming that they would share the information only with colleges, universities, and others providing education-related services. But the FTC charged that the firms then also sold the information to direct marketers, list brokers and other commercial entities.

“The point is that companies must comply with their stated privacy policies or face the consequences,” said J. Howard Beales, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “A privacy policy should shine light on a company’s information practices, not obscure them.”