Articles

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act is a federal law concerned, in part, with privacy and security of consumer financial information.

Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary voted Friday to recommend the prompt repeal of the Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices against Minors Act, a law prohibiting the transfer of personal information regarding minors (under 18). The Marketing Research Association (MRA), which had filed comments with the Committee, applauded the legislators’ efforts and looks forward to working with them to craft a new, more carefully crafted law, which will not impede survey and opinion research.

The Marketing Research Association requested today that the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary in Maine exempt survey and opinion research from their data transfer prohibitions. A new Maine law, the Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices against Minors Act, aimed at protecting minors in Maine under 18 years old, prohibits any transfer of their personally identifiable information, for any purpose, regardless of any parental consent.

A new Maine law aimed at protecting minors in Maine under 18 years of age prohibits any transfer of their personally identifiable information.

MRA’s Government Affairs Committee has drafted a definition below, and seeks comment from the entire research profession.

Today, the Marketing Research Association (MRA) announces victory in its lobbying and grassroots actions to protect research with health care practitioners in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Health has issued official guidance exempting market research incentives from the application of the state’s new Marketing Code of Conduct for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

Recent regulations passed in Massachusetts will severely hurt research with healthcare practitioners. The Marketing Research Association (MRA) is calling for all members of the research profession in Massachusetts to take action now.

MRA scored several recent victories in the ongoing fight against legislation to require public reporting of survey research incentives for health care practitioners or that ban them outright. MRA recently helped to convince legislators in Maryland and Rhode Island to withdraw their bills and helped to defeat legislation in Mississippi.

The New Mexico State Senate recently defeated a bill which would have required the public reporting of incentives paid to health care professionals for participation in marketing research studies sponsored by pharmaceutical, medical device or medical supply manufacturers.

Today, the Marketing Research Association (MRA) applauded the U.S. Congress for including $1 billion in immediate funding for the decennial Census in the just-approved economic stimulus law. MRA had advocated for the inclusion of this funding in the bill throughout the process and successfully helped fend off attempts in the Senate to eliminate the funds.