If you live in the United States and possibly elsewhere, you most likely have been receiving "Privacy Policies" in the mail. Businesses are getting these policies into the hands of their customers in an effort to help educate consumers on what information is being collected about them and how it is being used.
The Internet has brought this "problem" to the forefront of consumers' minds. Data has always been collected and sold in the past through catalog, direct mail, telemarketing, and even software companies. Remember all those registration cards you used to fill out? Much of that information is sold to other companies. Many companies collect a sizeable portion of their yearly income through mailing list rental fees. However, this article is not about the pros and cons of gathering names and renting them. I have my opinions about the practice but don't want to start a debate about that topic either here or in email.
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