A “newly energized phase of consumer activism” is spurring the ongoing wave of privacy bills and concerns, according to David W. Bertoni, an attorney with Brann & Isaacson.
Rather than contacting the company they had issue with, consumers are more likely to go directly to regulatory agencies with their privacy complaints, noted Bertoni. He spoke to New England Direct Marketing Association members Tuesday night during NEDMA’s annual “town meeting” at the offices of Sullivan Creative in Watertown, MA.
One of the biggest privacy problems right now is companies posting inaccurate privacy policies online that don’t reflect their current practices, he said.
In a broad sense, the “fundamental rule” is that “you can do just about anything as long as you tell people about it,” said Bertoni. The problem, of course, is that some DMers aren’t entirely comfortable about sharing their business practices.
Only about 1% of online users actually read privacy policies, he said, advising companies to make the policies as easy to find and understand as possible. “Don’t bury them online,” he noted.
Companies that market across various channels need a single policy that covers all their various media, Bertoni said, citing Hewlett-Packard and Amazon.com as examples of companies with good polices.
Bertoni said he is convinced we will eventually see federal spam legislation. This would ultimately be easier for DMers because they would not have to keep track of multiple state laws.
Lewiston, ME-based Brann & Isaacson’s DM clientele includes the Direct Marketing Association and L.L. Bean.
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