LABJ FORUM – Facing Turbulence
Civil litigation quickly followed the disclosure by JetBlue Airways that it had handed over as many as 5 million travel itineraries to a Defense Department contractor without its customers’ permission. The discount airline, which has proven to be one of the few success stories in the industry, sent an apologetic e-mail after the episode came to light. It has also sparked a debate about the limits companies should establish in protecting confidential customer information in a time of heightened anxiety over domestic security. So the Business Journal asks:
What do you think of companies handing over confidential customer information to the government?
Myron Crespin
President
Adcraft Business Mail
If the government submits an affidavit indicating it’s investigating an individual for some security activity, then the company has no choice but to turn its information over. The only problem is that then the stuff becomes public knowledge. If the government would keep it strictly confidential, then it would be much better. We do direct mailing, and we have to protect the (privacy) rights of individuals, up to the point that the government requests the information. The company has the responsibility, before revealing information to an outside source, of asking the person’s permission.
Moshe Guedalia
Owner
Rainbow Travel & Tours
It’s a very sensitive decision to make. If the government keeps it confidential, I wouldn’t mind. If they don’t give it out to just anybody, I would do that. I would rather they do it this way instead of them digging around for things. I don’t think they would use the information for the wrong reasons, so I wouldn’t really mind even if the client doesn’t know.
Ian Denchasy
Owner
Freddy and Eddy Adult Industry Co.
We would never under any circumstances I would destroy the information first before I would give it up. We would never give out anything as simple as an e-mail address. Nobody in the adult entertainment industry would collect personal information like ethnicity or religion. We just want people to buy our products. We really want as little information as possible. You can’t compromise everybody’s rights just because a few people might have nefarious ideas. To indiscriminately hand over the list of all the passengers is wrong, because you’re making the assumption that everyone’s a terrorist.
Judith Robledo
Owner
Select Personnel Service
I don’t like it. It’s an invasion of privacy. Any confidential information is just that and it should remain confidential. The last thing we would want to do is lose the trust of our clients. We constantly get phone calls from potential employers trying to get information about clients. In that case, we notify people ahead of time so they know we are giving out their information to potential employers. Unless we have a waiver, we don’t give information out.
Tom Farrand
President
Farrand Research Corp.
The problem I have is a company that says they won’t do something and then doing it. I don’t have a problem with sharing that kind of information with the government if they request it. It does make people leery of companies like ours that have personal information on them or their clients.
Anh Tran
Owner
WantedList Adult DVD Rentals
Our privacy statement says we won’t sell any information about our customers. The nature of our business is different. People should have the right to keep their information confidential and be given the option to do such. Companies that violate that confidentiality should be penalized for it. Handing information over to the government for defense purposes is understandable, but you should give customers the option to decide whether or not they want their information released.
