Business Usage of Consumer Information for Direct Marketing: What the Public Thinks

Author

Ekos Research Associates

Organization

Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)

Published

2001

Summary

The purpose of the study was to explore Canadians' attitudes on the use of their personal information by businesses for "secondary" purposes such as marketing of new products and services, in particular the importance Canadians attach to businesses obtaining consent before using personal data for marketing purposes, what Canadians want in terms of opportunities to control the use of their personal information in this regard, and how businesses should go about getting customer consent to such uses. A telephone survey and four focus groups were conducted. The research found that Canadians want control over the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information by businesses for marketing purposes, preferring explicit opt-in approaches to confirm their consent over presumed, or opt-out consent approaches.

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OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database