FTC finalizes enforcement order against Compete, Inc., a marketing research company, for privacy and data security violations Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/24/2013 3:51:00 PM In finalizing the Compete settlement today, the FTC appears to have accepted points made by the MRA and rejected EPIC's proposals to modify the settlement. Read More
Vera Cooley, MRA Member, Testifies Against Washington H.B. 1440 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/18/2013 8:39:00 AM Independent marketing research professional Vera Cooley testified yesterday in defense of respondent incentives at a state legislative committee hearing. Read More
Respondent Incentives Would Be Extremely Difficult to Offer in Washington State Under H.B. 1440 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/14/2013 8:26:00 AM Legislation in the Washington State House could cripple survey, opinion and marketing research involving respondent incentives by creating the presumption that anyone receiving remuneration for services is an employee. Read More
Final Physician Payments Sunshine Act Rules Released Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/2/2013 2:56:00 PM The final Sunshine Act rules explicitly carved out marketing research incentives for physician respondents. CASRO filed comments and MRA lobbied via contacts in Congress. The result caps a 5-year MRA campaign. Read More
Coalition of Researchers and Data Users Urge White House Support for Survey Incentives Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/27/2012 3:20:00 PM A coalition of research associations and professional societies today called upon the Obama Administration to defend the use of respondent incentives in federal surveys. Read More
Legislation Introduced to Protect Marketing Research Companies from Unfair Labor Department Actions Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/10/2012 1:27:00 PM Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA-03) has introduced the Research Fairness Act (H.R. 5915) in the U.S. Congress to prevent marketing research participants from being treated as employees of research companies. Read More
The House of Representatives killed the American Community Survey (ACS)? Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 5/9/2012 7:27:00 PM Going into the House of Representatives floor debate on Census funding this week, MRA and our coalition partners in the Census Project knew we were in for trouble -- but not this much trouble. The House voted to shift some of the Census funding in the Commerce Justice State (CJS) Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013 to other programs -- then voted to neuter, and ultimately kill, the American Community Survey (ACS).We were already concerned that the proposed funding for the Census in thi... Read More
Alcohol Taste Tasting? A Permit May Be Required Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 5/8/2012 7:20:00 PM Survey, opinion and marketing research companies that conduct alcohol taste tasting research should be aware that many states oblige companies to obtain a permit or license to serve alcoholic beverages, even for complimentary purposes. State regulatory agencies may also require registration prior to conducting taste testing studies. Read More
FEC supports survey research in New Hampshire Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 4/26/2012 3:15:00 PM The Federal Election Commission (FEC) approves an MRA-supported advisory opinion declaring that federal election law preempts aspects of New Hampshire's "push poll" law. Read More
U.S. Regulator Shields Telephone Survey Research From Further Restrictions Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/15/2012 12:58:00 PM The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today unanimously approved new regulations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) – the key law restricting telephone survey research across the U.S. – that will prohibit most telemarketing robocalls while continuing to permit survey research calls. Read More