I read your recent Editor’s Page in the March 1 edition (“Let’s make lemonade,” page 21). It would be very kind of you and your colleagues to leave the driver’s license issue alone. I am in the direct mail business, but I would prefer that the information I have to provide the state to get my license remain confidential.
I realize that some of this information may be available from other sources. If so, use the other sources. It seems as though privacy is becoming a thing of the past, and attitudes toward direct mail are getting worse. Direct marketers fighting for information on driver’s licenses will only make consumer attitudes worse.
It would be acceptable if the information were used only for list hygiene, but that’s not where it ends. If someone fills out a questionnaire at the mall, he can assume that the information will be shared. But when the information is required, such as on a driver’s license, I find it intrusive when it’s used for marketing purposes.
When I hear stories about the banking industry sharing customer information with anyone willing to pay the price, it sickens me. I can see the day when direct marketers will be put in the same unsavory category as lawyers and used-car salesmen, and I would hate to see that come about.