Shoddy Email Practices Cost Firm US$1.1M

March 13, 2006: A U.S. email marketing company has agreed to pay US$1.1 and clean up its act after being caught using unethically obtained consumer data from several data mining companies.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office said that Datran Media Corp. used emails obtained from data mining companies to spam consumers with a reported six million emails selling discount drugs, diet pills and other products.

The companies that supplied Datran with email addresses allegedly told consumers that their details would not be on sold to other companies after they revealed them in exchange for free iPods and DVD movies.

Spitzer accused Datran of knowing this but going ahead with the email campaign regardless.

"Personal information equals marketing dollars," says Spitzer. "You learn more about consumers who you want to target in a hundred different ways and there's nothing wrong with that if you get the information properly."

The investigation into the case began when an Internet security assurance company raised a concern. Datran has since agreed to reform its practices under the agreement.

"We have always been and remain committed to industry best practices," says Datran spokesman Mark Naples. "Therefore, we are pleased to resolve this matter with the attorney general and are gratified that his office worked collegially with us."

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