METROMAIL PROFITS BY ENDANGERING KIDS

By Blair Richardson, Attorney-at-Law

When we think of protecting our children, we tend to think of guarding them against molesters, teaching them ways to deal with bullies, and how to say no to drugs or rides with strangers. It doesn't occur to us that U.S. companies are actively peddling information about our children -- including names, ages, addresses, and phone numbers -- to any stranger who asks. But it's true. One such company is Metromail Corporation, which stands out for engaging in irresponsible dissemination of data about our children, in ways that should alarm every parent.

900 Number Gives Out Data

Metromail Corporation, a subsidiary of $6.4-billion printing giant R. R. Donnelley & Sons, is a large database compiler with over $200 million in annual sales. It gathers and sells information about consumers and their children to marketers, the government, and individuals. It also sells information on children through mailing lists, and its advertising boasts of "3,200 innovative sources" for information on babies.

It recently came to light that Metromail has been selling information about children over a 900 number and online. It has been possible for anyone to call the company and ask for the address of an individual child by name, or to ask for addresses of a group of children, for $3.00 per minute. It has even been possible to call Metromail with just an address, and have them tell you the name, age, and phone number of the child who lives there.

Convicts Process Information

Far worse, some of Metromail's consumer surveys -- including information about children -- were provided to Texas prisoners in 1994 for keypunching. Among them were rapists and other sex offenders and violent criminals.

The results of this project? One woman has been terrorized by an inmate who wrote to let her know he knew where she lived, what she liked, and what he wanted to do to her sexually. Another inmate was quoted as saying that "inmates saw information that was so private, it would motivate them. It motivated them to the point where they were on a natural high...." The project was cancelled following a petition drive from a Texas victims rights group.

Metromail Defends Its Abuses

Metromail and Donnelley have never apologized to the woman who was victimized, nor notified the parents of children whose data was provided to the sex offenders. Metromail has defended the online and 900-number services as legitimate, but was forced to cancel them just recently because of exposure from a competitor and the press. The company has since attempted to blame the whistle-blowers for suggesting ways to misuse the service.

Metromail was also caught selling voter registration data for unlawful purposes throughout the '80s and early '90s. Its response to the Wall Street Journal was that the laws protecting these voters were just not on the company's "radar screen."

Let Donnelley Know How You Feel

Metromail and Donnelley's unwavering stance does little to dispel concern about the company's ethics concerning children's safety. The Klaas Foundation for Children has urged R. R. Donnelley to use its considerable resources and influence to support legislation to protect data on children. Until this is accomplished, however, the Klaas Foundation and a growing number of citizens feel that this company has forfeited the right to maintain dossiers on American children.

The first step toward protecting our children is to deny child molesters access to information. Let R. R. Donnelley know how you feel by sending your letters to: 77 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, 60601. Ask them what they have on your child and where they got it. Then tell them to remove your family's data. They will get the message.