[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AMERICA ONLINE NEEDS TO OFFER ITS SUBSCRIBERS INFORMED CONSENT ON 
                          TELEMARKETING ISSUE

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                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 1997

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge America Online [AOL] 
to be up front with its customers over the issue of informed consent 
for telemarketing purposes.
  An AOL subscriber myself, I was outraged when I learned the company 
planned to market its 8.5 million customers' telephone numbers to 
scores of telemarketing hucksters, without informing them or getting 
their consent. Under a siege of protests, the Internet provider 
canceled that plan but instituted another that still breaks faith with 
its subscribers, Now it plans to allow its own employees to make the 
telemarketing calls.
  AOL still doesn't get it. Families sitting down to dinner do not want 
to be disturbed by unsolicited vendors. The company needs to make it 
clear to its customers up front what use it plans to make of their 
private information and then give them an easy option for protecting 
themselves from the unauthorized use of that data. And I emphasize 
``easy.'' If you've ever tried to opt out of AOL's marketing gimmicks, 
you know how hard it is. Good luck in even finding the option on the 
company's Web site.
  What AOL should do is display a pop-up notification box informing 
subscribers of any new marketing schemes using customers' phone numbers 
and other personal information. This notification box should contain a 
simple yes or no option for customers to inform AOL of their decision 
whether to allow the company to release their personal information, or 
to permit AOL's own employees to market other companies' products to 
them.
  AOL also needs to call itself to a higher standard. Originally, it 
said it was collecting its subscribers' phone numbers so it could call 
them if their account was tampered with or if their credit card was 
stolen--not for telemarketing purposes. Its revised plan amounts to a 
bait-and-switch tactic.
  This whole saga is another example of how an incredibly useful and 
powerful medium can abuse the public trust. With power must come 
responsibility. And if online companies aren't willing to police 
themselves, Congress may very well do it for them.
  I have sponsored a bipartisan bill to safeguard the privacy of 
citizens' Social Security numbers and other personal information by 
restricting their marketability by credit bureaus, departments of motor 
vehicles, and the Internet. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 
1813, the Personal Information Privacy Act.

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