preview

Little Rock-Based Companies: A Case Study

Decent Essays
leading data brokering company with one of the largest commercial database on consumers in the world is Acxiom Corporation. This 9 Little Rock - based company, according to its executives has about 1500 data points for each of about 500 million consumers worldwide (10% of world population); in order to manage all data they have (as the 20 company is gathering and using data since the ’80s, when they upset direct marketing with computerized advanced analytics across massive datasets) they tried to improve the algorithms to segment population (by age, location, etc...). 
 Acxiom is “specialised” in database marketing, more precisely in people- based marketing (engage consumers with relevant messages). According with their…show more content…
InfoUSA controversy One of the biggest concerns and problematics of data brokering is the fact that it is hard to know to whom data is sold and how buyers will use it. In fact, this may lead to purchasers using bought informations for criminal purposes. In 2007 the New York times reported 12 that infoUSA, a data brokering company, sold lists about old vulnerable people (such as “old people looking for ways to make money” or “suffering seniors dealing with cancer or Alzheimer’s”) which are more likely to be naive and/or credulous, and the purchasers used those lists for fraudulent purposes. For example a 92 years old man was duped into revealing his banking data to 25 unknown people telephoning him, and who then emptied his bank account without his authorization. Once his family noticed this it was anyway hard to understand how it was possible, thanks to the old man memory being faulty. Old people also are “good victims” as they often tend not to tell anything to the police due to their fear of being brought to the hospice, and not wanting their family and sons to be worried about their mental
Get Access