DMers Contributed to Anti-Data-Use Senator Shelby
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who sponsored legislation restricting the use of motor vehicle data for marketing purposes, received more than $20,000 during the 1993-98 election cycle from political action committees sponsored by direct mail-related organizations.
As reported in the upcoming February issue of DIRECT magazine, $2,000 came from the Direct Marketing Association’s political action committee Direct.Voice during the 1997 and 1998 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The DMA political action committee gave an additional $3,000 in 1998 and 1999.
The legislation Shelby sponsored was a coda to the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994, which was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Shelby amendment calls for an opt-in requirement to be applied for the release of motor vehicle data.
The amendment, which takes effect June 1, requires that state motor vehicle programs get express permission from drivers before releasing data on them for marketing purposes. This shift, from an opt-out to an opt-in system, could stymie the availability of age data and various vehicle identifiers now contained in DMV files.
Other direct marketing-related organizations that contributed to Shelby’s campaign fund include Arizona Mail Order Co. ($3,000); R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. ($3,000); Mail Boxes Etc. ($1,000); Advo Inc. ($1,000); and the Advertising Mail Marketing Association–now known as the Association for Postal Commerce–($1,000).
United Parcel Service was a particularly large donor, contributing $9,500.
Direct.Voice does not publicly comment on why it makes contributions to candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, according to DMA vice president for government affairs Mark Micali. But he did say that issues come up before two committees on which Shelby sits–Appropriations and Banking, and Housing and Urban Affairs–which are relevant to the DM community.
