http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=1688&Country_Code=USA Notice, Access, Choice Acxiom recognizes that individuals should be informed as to how information about them is used and have choices pertaining to the use and dissemination of that information. Notices should be provided that explain the collection, use and distribution of personally identifiable information. Most importantly, individuals should have the choice to opt out of the use of their data in marketing campaigns if they so desire. Similarly, Acxiom believes individuals should have access to information a company has about them that will be used for commercial reference purposes. Acxiom conforms to all legal and self-regulatory guidelines for providing an individual with notice, access and choice. Acxiom builds two types of information products: marketing and reference. InfoBase® Marketing Productsâ??Public Record and Publicly Available Informationâ??Telephone directories, website directories and listings, real property recorder and assessor information, historical drivers license information and historical motor vehicle information Data from Other Information Providersâ??Demographic information, survey information and summary buyer information These databases do not include credit information, medical information, Social Security Number (or other related information) or personally identifiable information about children. Acxiom uses the U.S. Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Mail Preference, Telephone Preference and E-mail Preference suppression files, as well as state and federal do not call lists in the development of these databases. These databases are provided to qualified businesses for marketing and customer service purposes only. The information can be used to enhance customer files and provide lists for prospecting purposes. Acxiom's clients use our InfoBase marketing products to provide customers and prospects with better service, improved offerings and special promotions. For some consumers, however, those benefits are outweighed by their desire to restrict access to their individual information through Acxiom's products. In order to assist those consumers, Acxiom will be happy to remove an individual's name from these products if: The individual does not want companies with whom he does business to access his information via Acxiom's products. The individual does not wish to receive special promotions, catalogs or other marketing materials via mail, telemarketing or e-mail from companies that use Acxiom's products and with which he does not currently conduct business. Opt-Outâ??Consumers may request an Opt-out Form by contacting Acxiom's Consumer Advocate Hotline at 501-342-2722 (toll free 1-877-774-2094) or sending an e-mail to optout@acxiom.com. In addition to using the Direct Marketing Association's Mail, Telephone and E-mail Preference Services in our marketing data products, Acxiom will accept opt-outs from other qualified third parties. To obtain a copy of Acxiom's qualification criteria, please send an e-mail to privacy@acxiom.com. InfoBase and SentricxSM Reference Productsâ??Acxiom develops and maintains databases containing information about many individuals and households in the U.S. for reference purposes and provides online links to other information provider services for use by qualified businesses and government agencies for lawful and ethical purposes. These databases are developed from many different sources, including: Public Record and Publicly Available Information â??Telephone directories; real property recorder and assessor information; historical drivers license information; current drivers license information, where allowed by law; historical motor vehicle information; current motor vehicle information, where allowed by law; deceased information; and other suppression information Data from Other Information Providersâ??Telephone companies, surveys, questionnaires and consumer-provided contact information These databases and access to other information provider services include financial information, Social Security Number and other related information where permitted by law. This information is provided only to qualified businesses primarily in the finance, insurance, mortgage, real estate and retail industries for the purpose of risk management including verifying information about customers, issuing mortgages, speeding transactions, employment screening and reducing the chance of fraud. This information is also provided to government agencies for the purposes of risk management including verifying information, employment screening, national security and assisting law enforcement. In order to protect the use of this information, Acxiom does not provide any information, whether public or non-public, to individuals. Acxiom also does not allow our clients to make any non-public information available to an individual. Acxiom does allow our clients to make only public record and publicly available information available to individuals in the form of commonly used and accepted real estate research tools and public listing searches via the Internet. Accessâ??An individual may have access to his or her individual information maintained in Acxiom's commercial reference databases. The information will be provided in the form of an information report which Acxiom will be happy to provide for a fee of $5.00. Individuals may request an Acxiom Consumer Reference Information Report Request Form by contacting our Consumer Advocate Hotline at 501-342-2722 (toll free 1-877-774-2094) or sending an e-mail to consumerreport@acxiom.com. If an individual wants to change or correct inaccurate information or have that information removed from Acxiom's InfoBase or Sentricx commercial reference products, he or she should contact the source of the information. These sources include telephone companies and county clerks' offices. Since Acxiom is not the original source, we do not alter the information in our databases unless we discover it is inconsistent with the source. More information about how to contact these sources can be found in our PDF brochure, "What every consumer should know about the use of individual information". Acxiom in CDI Review by META Group Acxiom, along with 12 other CDI vendors, was reviewed by META Group in its recently released META Delta Report. This report not only evaluates vendors, but also takes a look at issues and market trends in the emerging and fast-growing Customer Data Integration space. See also: http://www.acxiom.com/ http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,61240,00.html http://www.dnb.com/AU/alliances/acxiom/index.asp?link=acxiom http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,83854,00.html http://www.twst.com/notes/articles/raz202.html
They appear to be nothing more than a list broker/compiler. From their site: These databases do not include credit information, medical information, Social Security Number (or other related information) or personally identifiable information about children.[/b] FCRA: (1) In general. The term "consumer report" means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for (A) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; (B) employment purposes; or (C) any other purpose authorized under section 604 [§ 1681b].
True, the Infobase does not, but see the Sentricx database. http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=1767&Country_Code=USA See sample report here: http://www.acxiom.com/subimages/416200325837samplereport-bgerber.pdf http://www.acxiom.com/subimages/910200382254adverse-pre.pdf http://www.acxiom.com/subimages/910200382254adverse-pre.pdf http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=2110&Country_Code=USA http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=2150&Country_Code=USA
From a mailing list I monitor: Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 00:25:51 -0500 EPIC has obtained this August 2002 email message: http://www.epic.org/privacy/profiling/tia/darpaacxiom.pdf Excerpt: "Ultimately, the U.S. may need huge databases of commercial transactions that cover the world or certain areas outside the U.S. This information provides economic utility, and thus provides reasons why foreign countries would be interested. Acxiom could build this mega-scale database." This email discussion was happening at the same time (Dec. 2001 through Oct. 2003) that presidential wanna-be Wesley Clark was on Acxiom's board and was a highly-paid lobbyist for the company: http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=2312&Country_Code=USA
