REGULATORY: Trans Union Wins Stay of FTC Order

The Federal Trade Commission has stayed the enforcement of a Feb. 10 order against PerformanceData, the target marketing division of Chicago-based Trans Union LLC, pending a hearing in the U.S. Court of appeals. The order had stipulated that Trans Union discontinue distributing consumer reports, including target marketing lists, to anyone not falling under the “permissible purposes” stipulation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; keep a five-year record of its compliance efforts; distribute the order to relevant executives within the company; for the next five years notify the FTC at least 30 days prior to any change of control of the company; and deliver an update on its compliance to the FTC within 180 days. According to the order, Trans Union successfully demonstrated that it would likely succeed on appeal and that it would suffer irreparable harm if a stay wasn’t granted. It also documented that by not granting the stay there would be injury to third parties and that it woul! d be in the public’s interest to have it granted. The company filed its appeal on Tuesday, April 4. No date for the hearing has been set.