Does anyone know if there are other news reports with more information on this issue?
It seems that most of the information that Motorola was asking for was not personal data that would be subject to a privacy right. Rather it was information about businesses that bought Motorola products.
I suppose you could argue that the name, title, and (presumably) business phone number are private data, but that seems like a stretch.
If this is the right assumption, it would explain why a NY's attorney general and the FTC are not interested in this case. If personal data were involved (for example, a computer company requiring dealers to provide information about the dealer's customers without notice to the customer), the Feds (and the States) would be all over this. Look what happened to DoubleClick and Toysmart.
That said, the business practice is still disturbing. Dealers own their customer lists. Giving that asset to Motorola seems a high price to pay for staying in business. Given some of the market share numbers bandied about, I am suprised the FTC isn't investigating this on monopoly grounds.
I suppose that some end users could sue Motorola for inducing the dealers to breach a confidentiality obligation.
I agree with the need to get better information about the market, but this seems like a stupid and heavy-handed way to go about it.
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It seems that most of the information that Motorola was asking for was not personal data that would be subject to a privacy right. Rather it was information about businesses that bought Motorola products.
I suppose you could argue that the name, title, and (presumably) business phone number are private data, but that seems like a stretch.
If this is the right assumption, it would explain why a NY's attorney general and the FTC are not interested in this case. If personal data were involved (for example, a computer company requiring dealers to provide information about the dealer's customers without notice to the customer), the Feds (and the States) would be all over this. Look what happened to DoubleClick and Toysmart.
That said, the business practice is still disturbing. Dealers own their customer lists. Giving that asset to Motorola seems a high price to pay for staying in business. Given some of the market share numbers bandied about, I am suprised the FTC isn't investigating this on monopoly grounds.
I suppose that some end users could sue Motorola for inducing the dealers to breach a confidentiality obligation.
I agree with the need to get better information about the market, but this seems like a stupid and heavy-handed way to go about it.