THE DMA EXPELS INFOLINK TECHNOLOGIES

Commission action regarding the revised Telemarketing Sales Rule:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts: Louis Mastria 212.790.1529 Lmastria@the-dma.org

Jordan Cohen 212.790.1507 Jcohen@the-dma.org

THE DMA EXPELS INFOLINK TECHNOLOGIES

Former Member Violated DMA Guidelines

NEW YORK, June 19, 2003 – The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today announced that it has expelled Infolink Technologies Ltd. (Toronto, Canada) for violating DMA guidelines by sending unsolicited commercial faxes to prospects. The DMA’s Board of Directors made the decision to expel Infolink upon the recommendation of the Association’s Teleservices Ethics Committee.

The case was brought to The DMA’s attention by DMA members and staff who were concerned about receiving unsolicited commercial faxes from Infolink Technologies Ltd. The Teleservices Ethics Committee made its expulsion recommendation to the board after several requests for the company to comply with DMA guidelines went unresolved.

"If a company violates DMA guidelines and doesn’t take action to comply upon notification by either of our ethics committees, they will be publicly expelled from the association," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA.

"The DMA believes that Infolink’s practices may also violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and, accordingly, has also referred the case to the Federal Communications Commission," added Pat Faley, vice president of ethics & consumer affairs, The DMA.

Infolink Technologies Ltd. specifically violated articles #44 and #48 of The DMA’s Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice. Article #44 governs the proper use of telephone facsimile machines for marketing purposes, and forbids the transmission of unsolicited advertisements by fax. Article #48 mandates member compliance with all federal, state, and local laws governing advertising, marketing practices and the transactions of business.

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How to Submit Cases

Marketers, consumers, and government and consumer officials can submit cases for consideration by The DMA’s Teleservices Ethics Committee or The DMA’s Committee on Ethical Business Practice.

To file a case, use the new complaint form, downloadable from The DMA’s Web site at www.the-dma.org/guidelines/EthicsComplaintForm.pdf, or write to The DMA and include a copy of the promotion or an example of the practice that is of concern.

For more information about the Committees or other DMA Ethics and Consumer Affairs Department programs, or to submit a case for review, contact:

Marsha Goldberger, Committee on Ethical Business Practice complaints or

Lisa Shosteck, Teleservices Ethics Committee complaints

Direct Marketing Association

1111 19th Street, NW Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20036-3603

Telephone: 202.955.5030

Fax: 202.955.0085

E-mail: ethics@the-dma.org

The Teleservices Ethics Committee

The DMA Teleservices Ethics Committee’s responsibilities are two-fold: to handle complaints against member and non-member companies in the teleservices segment of the direct marketing industry, and to issue policy and guidance to those marketing by telephone. As with the long-established DMA Committee on Ethical Business Practice, the Teleservices Ethics Committee refers any members not complying with the Committee’s requests to The DMA Board of Directors for public censure, suspension or expulsion, and can forward cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies if the committee believes a violation of law may have occurred.

Resources for Marketers

The complete text of The DMA's Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice can be found at www.the-dma.org/guidelines/ethicalguidelines.pdf.

For a companion guide, Do the Right Thing, which includes useful commentary and examples, visit http://www.the-dma.org/guidelines/dotherightthing.pdf.

Two new online educational features are Ethics "How-To" Articles, a monthly discussion of specific guidelines, at www.the-dma.org/dotherightthing/ethicshowto/index, and Ethics Case Studies, a monthly illustration of applying guidelines to cases, at www.the-dma.org/dotherightthing/ethicscasestudies.

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The DMA also offers a Telemarketing Resource Center, which includes information on state do-not-call lists, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and The DMA’s Telephone Preference Service. Visit www.the-dma.org/government/teleresourcecenter.

For information regarding The DMA’s Telephone Preference Services (TPS) – as well as the Mail Preference Service (MPS) and the e-Mail Preference Service (eMPS) – click to www.the-dma.org/preference.

Members of The DMA are required to certify compliance with the Privacy Promise, which includes providing notice regarding their information practices, honoring opt-out requests, providing in-house suppression, and using The DMA’s name-removal services.

Information concerning information practices and privacy can be found at

www.the-dma.org/privacy/privacypromise.

The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States are projected to have surpassed $2 trillion in 2002, including $126 billion in catalog sales and $34 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.

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