The Direct Marketing Association last week released a 105-page report detailing the value of the Data Driven Marketing Economy (DDME), along with a couple of spiffy infographics. Written by academics from Harvard and Columbia, it describes in numbing detail how vital the buying and selling of our personal data is to the future of our economy and the safety of the free world—and thus should be free from any government oversight.
Forgive me if I sound a mite skeptical. Data is, of course, like oxygen to the Internet. It would not survive long without it. But that doesn't mean information can't and shouldn't be regulated.
First, you have to consider the source. The Direct Marketing Association is the umbrella lobbying/PR group that represents major purveyors of junk mail, telemarketing, mail order catalogs, email spam, Web ads and other assaults on our personal privacy. (Or, conversely, helpful marketing materials that enable consumers to make better choices in how they spend their money. See, I can be fair when I want to.)
Historically, the DMA has been staunchly opposed to any measure that restricts the activity of its member companies or offers some level of control to consumers. Thus it opposed the Do Not Call List, easily the most successful pro-consumer initiative ever enacted by our government.
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