Skip the navigation

N.Y. attorney general sues Gratis, alleges privacy breach

The info sale may be the largest-ever deliberate violation of confidentiality agreements

By Shelley Solheim
March 23, 2006 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is suing Web site operator Gratis Internet Inc. for allegedly violating consumer confidentiality agreements by selling the personal information of millions of people to e-mail marketers, according to a statement issued Thursday by Spitzer's office.

Washington-based Gratis operates numerous Web sites, including FreeiPods.com, FreeCDs.com, FreeDVDs.com and FreeVideoGames.com.

Spitzer's suit claims that these free offers came at a price.

While Gratis informed users of its Web sites that it would not sell their personal information, Gratis owners Peter Martin and Robert Jewell in the past two years allegedly sold some 7 million consumers' e-mail addresses and other personal information to e-mail marketers. Those marketers used the information to distribute millions of e-mail solicitations, according to the statement.

If millions of users have indeed had their privacy compromised by Gratis' actions, analysts believe, the violation would constitute the largest deliberate privacy breach discovered by law enforcement officials to date.

The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, seeks penalties and injunctive relief against Gratis and its principals under New York's consumer-fraud statutes. Thursday's legal action comes on the heels of Spitzer's settlement earlier this month with e-mail marketer Datran Media Corp., which had bought consumer information from Gratis, according to the statement.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2010 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Privacy White Papers
Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
Streamline Compliance and Increase ROI
Streamline, simplify, and automate compliance related activities; especially those that impact multiple business units. This white paper from NetIQ, outlines solutions that will...
X-Ray of the PCI Process-4 Proactive Steps
This white paper from Forrester Research Inc., helps break PCI into understandable components. Security and risk professionals will gain knowledge and insight into...
All Privacy White Papers
Privacy Webcasts
A Road Map for Best Practice Social Media Acceptable Use Policy
Organizations around the world are racing to leverage the power of social media for business. Sites like Facebook are used for marketing, human...
Data Protection and Disaster Recovery with iSCSI and VMware
Get this on demand webcast now
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
All Privacy Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs