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February 2006
Vol. 2 No. 2
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| Selling Telephone Records: How Media Attention Will Impact Survey Research
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By LaToya D. Rembert, Esq: CMOR State Legislative Coordinator
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The media attention regarding the sale and use of telephone records has resulted in legislative activity. Legislation has been introduced in Congress and is spreading rapidly in the states. Within the last two weeks, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and attorneys general in several states have called for action to prohibit the sale of private phone records and have initiated investigations into several websites offering to sell phone records. This increased scrutiny may present some cause for concern for the survey research profession and again reinforce our need for good information practices and adherence to industry standards.
Legislative Action: Quick on the Federal and State Levels
Senator Schumer (D – NY), with co-sponsors Senators Specter (R-PA) and Nelson (D-FL), have introduced the Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006. More |
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| Our Work to Increase Cooperation |
| By Harry Heller, CMOR Director of Respondent Cooperation |
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The year 2005 was an important one for developing new and actionable solutions on how to increase respondent cooperation. The 2005 Respondent Cooperation Workshop presented a plethora of ways to increase cooperation rates. Here are some:
- Pre-notifying respondents combined with incentives, reduces refusals and increases cooperation with conversion attempts.
- Be prepared with trained interviewing staffs who are able to handle Spanish-speaking respondents, from the point of greeting onward. The Spanish-speaking population is large and growing.
- Be willing to change the mode of the interview once the respondent has been screened (i.e., from telephone to mailed questionnaire). Even though the data require additional time to collect, the increases in respondent cooperation are astounding.
- Provide each respondent with a positive image of opinion and marketing research, an alternative time and day for the interview, and the knowledge that the company contacting them is a legitimate company. These are important factors for increasing cooperation rates.
The Workshop included creative breakout sessions where attendees developed the ideas presented in the sessions and contributed new ideas to the process. A review of the Workshop - along with all of the papers presented - will soon be available for purchase at http://www.cmor.org/rc/evtpubs.cfm. Plans are now underway for the 2006 Respondent Cooperation Workshop -- September 13th–15th on the Riverwalk in San Antonio Texas.
The Respondent Cooperation Advisory Committee has worked on developing a fully “fleshed out” concept of an Industry Identifier Seal and tested it (via online survey) among the membership of four organizations that conduct research with the public. The seal, as described, would be developed and supported by both a public relations component (to make sure that the public knows about it) and an enforcement program (to ensure that the seal be used only by companies that are legitimate.) The CMOR Board has reviewed the survey results and agreed that the Respondent Cooperation Committee should continue work on the Industry Identifier, developing a Strategic and Business Plan.
Finally, CMOR has been working to reinitiate its vital studies. Included in these will be restarting CMOR’s two major studies – The Respondent Cooperation and Industry Image Study and the Respondent Cooperation Tracking Study. Both of these studies will call for the help of CMOR members and other companies to supply both data on completion results of studies and data collection in a number of modes of interviewing. |
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CMOR's 2006 Respondent Cooperation Workshop
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Workshop Date: September 13 – 15, 2006
Location: Hilton Plaza del Rio Hotel, Riverwalk, San Antonio Texas
Call For Papers Submission Deadline: February 28, 2006 to kpilhuj@scarborugh.com
Research professionals are invited to submit proposals for topics for the 2006 CMOR Respondent Cooperation Workshop. To learn more, visit this link: http://www.cmor.org/rc/papers.cfm
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| At A Glance: State and Federal Legislative Activity |
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Electronic Monitoring
- MS introduced legislation to require consent for all parties prior to recording private conversations.
Pharmaceutical Gifts
- MS, HI, and RI introduced legislation on gift disclosures to physicians.
Election Matters
- IL introduced legislation to require disclosure for a paid election communication.
- MS introduced legislation to prohibit exit polling.
Children’s Privacy
- IL, ME and WA introduced legislation aimed at protecting children’s information for distribution.
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Telephone Records
- Congress, MO, IL and CO introduced legislation to prohibit telephone record sales.
Sales-Related Activities
- FL introduced legislation to prohibit a cellular phone solicitation without prior consent.
- IN and MS introduced legislation to prohibit the sending unsolicited fax advertisements.
- MS introduced legislation to amend its Telephone Solicitation to include facsimiles.
- MO introduced two new bills to amend its do-not-call laws to include faxes and cell phones.
- OH introduced legislation to disclose location of caller.
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| Top
News (Cont'd. from top) |
This bi-partisan bill would create felony criminal penalties for stealing and selling the records of mobile phone, landline and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subscribers. It would also become a crime for a phone company employee to sell consumer data without permission.
Senator Durbin (D-IL) also introduced a bill that would make the sale or fraudulent transfer of telephone records a criminal offense. On the House of Representatives side, Representatives Inslee (D – WA – 1st District) and Blackburn (R – TN - 7th District) will introduce a bill that increases criminal penalties for people who pose as account holders to access telephone and phone records. Missouri, Illinois and Colorado have all introduced legislation aimed at the selling or disclosure of telephone records or call logs. The listing of states will likely grow during the course of the legislative session.
Data Brokers: The Focus of Increasing Scrutiny
Though the survey research profession does not condone practices of deceit or fraud, such practices could be invoked without the profession’s knowledge or awareness. The concern is not toward how the profession utilizes the information, but how data brokers obtain the information. The media is describing data brokers as insiders who illegally sell consumer information or those who impersonate consumers in order to obtain access to call records. As a result, the future of data brokers is one of ever-increasing scrutiny in the legislative and media arenas.
For further information on this issue or any other matter that may impact the profession, please visit www.cmor.org or contact LaToya Rembert at 301-654-6602 or lrembert@cmor.org. |
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