Privacy storm as directory 118 800 releases 15 million mobile numbers

Research: Thurs 11th June 2009

Update: Thurs 30th July 2009. Blog: Mobile Directory Enquiries Controversy

If you are looking for the number of a person, the service will send a text message to that person, which will include your number and a message saying that you are trying to get hold of them. It is up the recipient to reply. At a later stage, Connectivity may allow users to be directly connected to the mobile number.

The news, which leaked yesterday, the 10th of June, has already sparked a heap of privacy concerns covered by Brand Republic, BBC, Daily Mail and the Independent. The database consists of 15 million mobile numbers and it is very likely that people will not know that their number is included and therefore publicly available.

Connectivity describes how the directory is "made up from various sources. Generally it comes from companies who collect mobile telephone numbers from customers in the course of doing business and have been given permission by the customers to share those numbers", and this is, according to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) complying with the data legislation.

The main concern is that Connectivity's database will be used for unscrupulous marketing purposes, with £1 per number it could be a cost efficient acquisition methods for direct marketers. An article in the Mobile Marketing Magazine explains how the opt-in to share mobile numbers with a 3rd party, does not have to be a separate tick box (as it does for email marketing), but how such sharing details can instead be included in the terms & conditions. Unfortunately, as David Murphy points out, we mostly just agree with the terms without actually reading them. This means that people may experience mobile cold calling, without realising that they have given consent.

The ICO do not believe that Connectivity will be used for marketing purposes, and that the TPS (Telephone Preference Service) has a role to play in order to protect users. Although some reassurance has been given by Connectivity, as a spokes women explains that "we can tell any person where we got their number from, so they can go back to the company concerned if they thought their data was not going to be passed on", it seems to be an area with lack of clarity, and we may begin to see changes in regulation.

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