Not Allowed to Sue the Real Culprits; Torch Hiding? ...and Who
Is Acxiom?
By Tim Kern
It didn't take long. We
broke the story last Wednesday, about
how jetBlue, in cooperating with the DoD and its contractor, Torch
Concepts/Torch Technologies, exposed some of its customer data to
unreliable, unscrupulous, or really stupid (you pick) people, and
how pieces of those data, along with cross-referencing work,
apparently from data purveyor Acxiom, ended up in a published
presentation by Torch's CEO. JetBlue's CEO replied directly to us,
apologized, and explained his company's role, in
direct, clear terms.
Now, the DoD, which started it, and Homeland Security, where
some data were included as part of Torch's
pat-itself-on-the-back-ain't-we-smart presentation, are off the
hook; and jetBlue, which 'only wanted to help,' is on it.
We tried to reach Torch, whose president told
us last week that, well, basically, he denied that there was any
such report, said that he hadn't done any work for Homeland
Security, etc. -- but their phones weren't being answered Tuesday
afternoon. Their explanation of how 'Torch Concepts' and 'Torch
Technologies' are related (a company press release), has also been
pulled from their website. However, their home page still
proclaims, "The information you need, always at your desktop!"
Acxiom, for its part, says on its 'privacy' web page, "Acxiom has
always taken a proactive approach toward ensuring consumer privacy.
Since the founding of our executive level Corporate Privacy Council
in 1990, Acxiom continuously looks for ways to protect the
information we process and maintain about consumers and to promote
policies within the industry that offer individuals the protection
they are entitled." [See -- you just weren't entitled to
that privacy!]
We weren't able to
reach Acxiom by telephone, but a quick look at its Board of
Directors brings us the photos and bios of new
Presidential candidate (and former NATO Supreme
Commander) General Wesley Clark; former
Clinton Chief of Staff Thomas
'Mack' McLarty, and others, notably representative
of the direct-mail industry -- plus the former
Postmaster General of the United States. To top
that off, they also have the former CEO (and current member of the
Board) of Trans Union LLC, the credit bureau.
Well, they're smart, and probably do have access to a lot
of data...
JetBlue is, we believe, genuinely contrite; the plaintiffs (five
actual passengers, plus a group) are seeking only compensatory (not
punitive) damages from the airline.
Plaintiffs are also asking the FCC to investigate whether
JetBlue should be in trouble over 'deceptive trade practices,'
because its privacy policy didn't match its actions.
What's going to happen
to Acxiom and Torch is, so far, anybody's guess. The departments of
Defense and Homeland Security aren't covered by the laws we live
under, and are exempt from such lawsuits, no matter whether they
were deceitful in getting the information, how they mis-handled it,
or how they disclosed it, absent malice. The former DARPA honchos
at Torch and the policital heavy-hitters at Acxiom will probably
claim some immunity, as well.
The National Defense Industrial Association, on whose website
the
Torch paper was published (and removed, after our
inquiries apparently got people nervous), has not, as far as we
have been able to determine, been sued.
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