Thank you.
Chairman Dusseault, Vice-Chairman Andrews, Vice-Chairwoman Davidson, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to share Acxiom's perspective. Also, thank you for the opportunity to do it via video conference.
First, let me say that, as a global company, protecting privacy has been a priority for Acxiom for decades especially in countries unlike Canada where the laws do not cover all of the uses of personal data. We as a company pride ourselves on following all the legal obligations in each country where we source data. I also want to point out that when consumer data is properly used it can make significant contributions to the economy, and the growth and stability of an economy.
For 40 years Acxiom has been a market leader in responsibly providing innovative, computerized marketing services and a complementary line of data products to help our clients deliver better products and services smarter, faster, more cost effectively, and with less risk. Our global revenues are in excess of $1 billion annually. Our computerized marketing services are over 80% of worldwide revenues and our data products are less than 20%.
While in other countries we do provide a wider range of products and services, in Canada we only provide business and consumer telephone directory products amounting to just under $1.5 million in annual revenue. Acxiom does not have a physical presence in Canada. Instead, we deliver and support our Canadian business from our headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, here in the U.S.
Acxiom's Canadian business and consumer directories are licensed to companies and non-profit organizations for their internal use as an automated and inexpensive form of directory assistance or for direct mail and telemarketing purposes. Our directories are also licensed to companies that host directory search engines on the Internet for both consumer and commercial use. In these instances Acxiom's listings may be merged with telephone listings from other sources by our client. Many of the sites that license our directories display on the side the reference, “Data by Acxiom”. Our clients receive updated replacement directories on a periodic basis, some monthly, some quarterly, and others less frequently. These directories contain published business and consumer listings from printed telephone directories and additional listings available from directory assistance. They also contain Canadian census data that has been appended to the listings. We also flag all consumer records that have registered with the Canadian Direct Marketing Association through their do-not-call and do-not-mail suppression services. All clients who use the directory for telemarketing purposes must also use the Canadian national “do not call” list to block calls if the company does not have an existing business relationship with the consumer.
For our Canadian consumer directory, we offer consumers the ability to have their listing removed or, in other words, opt out, at no charge. For our Canadian business directory we offer the ability to remove or correct an inaccurate listing at no charge. In addition, if the business so requests, for a fee, we will publish a corrected yellow or white page listing to all our clients who get our business directory. Business owners and consumers can contact us by calling our consumer care department at a 1-877 number here in the U.S., which works in Canada. They can also opt out of our directory products by going online to Acxiom's corporate website, www.acxiom.com, and completing an opt-out request form. We also ask any client who uses our data to refer a consumer to us who asks about the source of the data. Opting out removes the listing from the next monthly maintenance cycle for the directory and our clients receive the update in their next scheduled update cycle. We also inform consumers who want to have their data removed from the Internet that they should contact the directory search engines directly. If they want their data removed more quickly then the site will receive an update from Acxiom.
This is a wise step to take, because there are other providers of such directories, and the search engine may not have gotten the listing exclusively from Acxiom.
As I hope our comments illustrate, Acxiom has a culture of respecting consumer privacy, and where laws exist, of honouring the obligations the law places on us and our clients in using personal data. Informational hearings such as this one are very helpful in informing all parties about how personal information can be appropriately used.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to appear here today and am available to provide any additional information the committee may request.
Thank you.
