Legality of publishing customer lists

[Nathan Funk]

Hi everyone,

I run a tiny software business and would like to know whether it is ok
to publish the business names of customers on my website without prior
consent. So far I have only posted names with the consent of the
customer:

http://www.singularsys.com/jep/users.html

One person advised me that I should include information in the privacy
policy on this. But my question is what exactly is legal and what not?
Would I violate privacy laws by posting the business names?

Thanks for any advice or places to look to find an answer.

Nathan

[Rod H.]

Post by Nathan Funk
Hi everyone,
I run a tiny software business and would like to know whether it is ok
to publish the business names of customers on my website without prior
consent. So far I have only posted names with the consent of the
http://www.singularsys.com/jep/users.html
One person advised me that I should include information in the privacy
policy on this. But my question is what exactly is legal and what not?
Would I violate privacy laws by posting the business names?
Thanks for any advice or places to look to find an answer.
Nathan

Nathan, I'm not a lawyer and don't pretend to be. Therefore, I'm not going
to comment on the legality of posting customer names on your web site
without their permission. What I will comment on is whether or not it is
wise from a marketing and customer relationship standpoint...

First, it looks to me like you already have a very impressive list of
customers posted on your site. Why do you think you need more? Adding more
would simply make visitors to your site scroll down the page further which,
as you know, can be somewhat annoying.

Second, imagine you are one of your customers visiting your site one day.
Then they see their company's name (hopefully not their logo!) posted on
your web site without their permission. Wouldn't that make you feel a little
taken advantage of? Perhaps not but, for some people, it may. You don't want
to damage a good customer relationship by making anyone feel like their
trust has been violated. Also, some companies do not want to divulge (or
risk divulging) their vendors to competitors. Why? Because competitors could
mimic their operation simply by writing a check if they know who the vendor
is behind certain business practices.

My recommendation would be to stick with a few, well-known customers whom
you have received permission from. Regardless of the legal implications, it
avoids the other complications listed above.

Rod