Meet the Publishers - From the current issue of PI Magazine
Private investigators have recently become the subject
of substantial negative publicity with Congress going after PI’s
and information brokers for selling telephone toll records. Yet, there
is actually no consensus as to whether this practice is or isn’t
illegal. If it’s not illegal, then why is Congress pushing for
a bill to make it illegal?
Scores of PI’s and information brokers have now found themselves the
target of federal investigations and Congressional hearings. Even the FTC has
come under fire for being weak on their stance on the sale of toll records.
When Robert Douglas, the CEO of PrivacyToday.com, testified before
the Committee of Energy & Commerce of the US House of Representatives on
Feb. 1, 2006, he specifically referenced PI Magazine and the article I wrote
of my interview with Joel Winston of the FTC. Mr. Douglas used this article as
his main evidence against the FTC and he also referenced an email I posted on
several list serves discussing my interview.
For more than three decades, investigators have used toll records
as a valuable investigative tool to find criminals, identify pedophiles, confirm
the source of threatening phone calls, locate abducted children, and many more
areas where the consumer client benefited from our work. That tool now appears
to become a relic of the past. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of the almighty
dollar, many PI’s and info brokers sold toll records to clients with no
basic consideration of how it was being used, and there lies the obvious problems
and concerns. Our next issue will address this topic in more detail with the
latest updates from Washington.
I am proud to welcome Tamara Thompson as our newest Associate Editor.
Tamara is a licensed PI in California and is best known for her expertise with
Internet blogs. She and PI Magazine Publisher, Rosemarie Mesis are now co-editors
of PI Buzz.com, the new official Blog of PI Magazine. Tamara’s regular
column will feature highlights of valuable postings appearing at www.PIbuzz.com.
Please feel free
to write to us at info@PImagazine.com and
tell us what you like, don’t like, and what you would like
to see in future issues. Remember, this is your publication and
a reflection of our profession.
Our most sincere
thanks to all our new friends and colleagues,
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