Letter seeking records and information from data-brokers.

The following letter, sent to Mr. R. Michael Martin, of Advanced Research, Inc., is representative of the letters sent to the following 13 recipients: Carlos Anderson of C.F. Anderson PI of Hollywood, Fla., which manages Anderson-pi.com; Tim Berndt, Chief Investigator of ReliaTrace Locate Services of Hudson, Wis., which manages reliatrace.com and reliablelitigation.com; Richard J. Downing, Owner of Piranha Investigations of San Leandro, Calif. and Orange Park, Fla., which manages piranhainvestigations.com; David Kacala, Director of Information Search Inc. of Baltimore, which manages information-search.com; Jody Leatherman, Director of MPIS, Inc. of Keyser, W.V., which manages publicpeoplefinder.com, nationwidesearch.com, locatepeople.com, easytolocate.com, lostpeople.com, and peoplesearchers.com; Lisa M. Loftus, Registered Agent of Efindoutthetruth.com, Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., which manages efindoutthetruth.com; Dana Owen, President of CSI of America of Bellingham, Wash., which manages csiofamerica.com; Skipp Porteous, President of Sherlock Investigations of New York City, which manages sherlockinvestigations.com; Jay Puller, President of AccuSearch Inc. of Cheyenne, Wyo., which manages abika.com; John Strange, President of Worldwide Investigations, Inc. of Denver, which manages usaskiptrace.com; Michele Yontef of Telcosecrets of Tuscon, Ariz., which manages telcosecrets.com; Noah Wieder, President of Intelligent eCommerce, Inc. of Encinitas, Calif., which manages iinfosearch.com and bestpeoplesearch.com; and the unidentified president or CEO of Cellulartrace.com of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

Mr. R. Michael Martin
Registered Agent
Advanced Research, Inc.
32 North Beverwyck Road
Lake Hiawatha, NJ 01034

Dear Mr. Martin:

We write to request information relating to the business activities of Advanced Research, Inc. (ARI). It is our understanding that ARI owns and operates a "data broker" Web site, named advsearch.com. According to numerous press reports, many data broker Web sites acquire and sell consumers' personal cell phone records and other personal data, without the knowledge or consent of the owners of those cell phone numbers. Even cell phone roaming records are being sold, giving purchasers not only the numbers called, and their dates and times, but also the city and state from which those mobile calls were made.

In light of these disturbing press reports, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, pursuant to its jurisdiction over telecommunications, the Internet, consumer protection, and interstate commerce, has commenced an investigation of these activities to determine exactly how this data is being acquired and sold.

According to your Internet Web site, and the Web sites of other companies that sell such information, various components of an individual's personal profile and activities, including cell phone records, are for sale. For example, for a relatively modest fee, a purchaser can get access to: itemized incoming and outgoing call logs for cell phone numbers, landline numbers, or voice-over-Internet-protocol (VOIP) numbers; unpublished phone numbers; addresses; and other personal data - without any notice to and consent by the owners of those numbers.

In essence, within literally a matter of hours, someone who purchases such information from a data broker Web site can gain unauthorized access to an individual's daily calls and contacts, home and billing addresses, and other valuable confidential information. It is very disconcerting that certain online data broker companies are exploiting consumers' personal records and selling the information to whomever pays for the records. With the exception of the legitimate activities of law enforcement authorities, who in any event have legal means for acquiring such information, we struggle to find any ethical justification for marketing this data.

Thus, in an effort to learn more about ARI's business and activities related to the sale of cell phone related records and other personal data, we are writing to you today to seek additional information to assist with this review. We request that, pursuant to Rules X and XI of the U.S. House of Representatives, you provide the following records and information detailed below on or before Wednesday, March 1, 2006:

1. Describe the services that are provided by ARI.
2. List and describe all businesses (including Internet Web sites) owned by, associated with, or otherwise related to, ARI that sell consumer cell phone related records and other personal data. Along with the description of each such business, provide: 1) a description of the services offered by the business; 2) the date the business was founded or purchased, and if purchased, from whom; 3) a list of all individuals who have an ownership interest in the business; 4) a list of the names and contact information for all corporate officers and executives, including telephone numbers and email addresses; 5) a list of the names of all individuals employed or otherwise compensated for his services by the business; 6) the physical location and address of the business' headquarters and all other places of business; and, 7) the annual gross and net revenue generated by the business for each calendar year since its inception.
3. List and describe in detail all methods by which ARI (and any of its related businesses) acquires the personal cell phone records and other data associated with a given cell phone number.
4. Do the employees of ARI (or any of its related businesses) pose as customers seeking information about their own accounts ("pretexting") to obtain the data being purchased by a ARI customer? Does ARI (or any of its related businesses) obtain access to cell phone company databases through computer hacking, impersonation of phone company employees or government agents, or other unauthorized and fraudulent means?
5. List all individuals or businesses that provide ARI (or its related businesses) personal cell phone records and other data associated with a given cell phone number. For each individual or business, describe the nature of the relationship with ARI (or its related businesses), the compensation arrangement with ARI, and the amount or type of compensation provided by ARI.
6. For ARI and each of its related data broker businesses or Web sites, list the names of all employees, agents, consultants, and other individuals who work for or provide services to the company or Web site.
7. Has ARI conducted, through an examination by either in-house or outside counsel, an analysis of the legal implications and risks of acquiring and selling the personal cell phone records and other data associated with a given cell phone number? If so, provide a copy of all such legal opinions provided to, or produced for, ARI or its related businesses.
8. By calendar year since 2000, list the names of the top 20 customers, by revenue, for each of ARI's data broker Web sites. With each customer listed, and for each calendar year, provide the total dollar amount paid by the customer to the data broker.
9. All records related to the methods by which ARI and its related data broker Web sites procure and sell telephone records, including but not limited to all contracts regarding such procurements.
10. All records related to any inquiries by law enforcement or regulatory officials regarding the procurement and sale of telephone records.
11. All company policy guidelines, employee manuals, or other instructions regarding the procurement and sale of telephone records, and all records related thereto.
12. Do ARI and its related data broker Web sites obtain the consent of the owner of a phone number prior to procuring and selling records related to that phone number? Do ARI and its related data broker Web sites ever notify the owner of a phone number that his records have been procured and sold? If yes, describe when and why.

Additionally, Committee investigators will be contacting you within the next week to arrange interviews with you and other company officers and employees. If you have any questions, please contact Tom Feddo of the Committee on Energy and Commerce Majority Staff at (202) 225-2927 or Consuela Washington of the Minority Staff at (202) 225-3641.

Sincerely,

Joe Barton
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce

John D. Dingell
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce

Bart Stupak
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations