A statement from EasyInfo.co.za

Johannesburg, 08 Feb 2002

Since Wednesday morning`s interview on Highveld Stereo`s Rude Awakening show, Alan Lipschitz, MD of Interface Media, proprietor company of EasyInfo.co.za, the online business and now personal directory, the media has taken to stir up a hurricane about allegations of unlisted telephone numbers that appear on the site`s personal directory service.

"We ran a strong radio campaign on Highveld Stereo to be followed by a promotion for the personal directory service on EasyInfo.co.za. The producer of the Rude Awakening show contacted me requesting an on-air interview. The show hosts appealed for an explanation to allegedly publishing unlisted telephone numbers and stating that members of the public had complained about being able to match a physical address to a telephone number and name.

What has been overlooked is the celebration of technical advancement.
Alan Lipschitz, MD, Interface Media

"Through the powers of the Internet and searchable database flexibilities, we are able to offer the opportunity for multiple field searches, including name, physical address and telephone number. Until now the public has been limited to a single field surname search through age-old print media publications. What has been overlooked is the celebration of technical advancement.

"On interview we took immediate steps to remove the EasyPlace search option, prohibiting users from searching physical addresses. We have also since then urged the public to contact our call centre, which has been geared to handle real-time deletions of personal listings.

"The call centre has been hard at work keeping up with hundreds of national requests pouring in via mail and calls from as far a field as USA, Canada, Australia and UK. I have to extend my gratitude to the team and staff who are positioned in the frontline of public assistance.

"Subsequent to the interview the matter has been highlighted and sensationalised, resulting in an unexpected media tornado. Strangely enough, the story was formally released more than a week ago and no one seemed to pay much attention until now.

"I do, however, find it interesting that the customer care centre is reporting a large portion of de-listing requests originating from users that are in fact listed in Telkom`s phone book. This leads me to question how much of the public response is actually as a result of media hype and how much is truly as a result of members who are sincerely concerned for their safety," comments Lipschitz.

EasyInfo.co.za is one of the very few independent and organically funded Internet companies remaining in SA.

"We chose to build value when Internet hype ran high, rather than opportunistically taking millions to enrich ourselves or irresponsibly over-capitalise on other people`s money, and then blow out.

"After close on 10 years in an exceptionally tough industry, EasyInfo.co.za continually strives to improve and expand the directory offerings. One of the key services that we have had thousands of requests for was an online residential and telephone directory. Users felt that having this online would be of great benefit and value. A large portion of the requests were made by South African ex-patriots looking to locate friends and family they had lost contact with and where online searchable offerings would be the only possible method sourcing this information.

"Expert telecoms and copyright legal opinion was taken before inclusion of the service on the EasyInfo.co.za site and given the increasing requests for the service and the fact it would be convenient for the `man in the street` we made the information available.

"From the outset, all that we wished to do was to provide value for users and information that was already available in the public domain. We have received a great deal of requests to remove personal listings, but even after the third day of publicity the 2 000 requests thus far represent a small fraction of the 2.5 million listings published.

"From an ethical point-of-view, while there are no obstacles in law to presenting the list as we have done, our intention was and remains to at no point compromise any innocent parties and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We would, however, point out that the removal of one`s name from our site does not really afford these individuals all that much protection since their names were and are easily obtainable from multiple sources. In this regard, we challenge the media to scrutinise the entire system of publication of names by, for example, certain corporates, subscription databases and the like.

"Given the sensitivity to the matter and the fact that I am informed that management at the above-mentioned radio station discussed this so extensively that instead of making a media story and inciting the issues of fear and risk to parties, I ask why indeed they did not request a prior meeting whereby we urgently gathered a list of possible media personalities that may be at risk. The service could easily have been held back while we air the issue, giving relevant parties the opportunity to pre-request their removal and thus only publish the 99.9% that is normal and useful to users.

"All the media hype has in turn created a run of fear and negativity in respect of information that was already available to anyone who made a marginal effort to find it. In one amazing case a talk show host discussed the matter off-air, I stated that we would ensure his details were permanently removed, and he proceeded to then create the story about the issue based on fear, avoiding our name as he said this would be publicity and ironically had Telkom on air mentioning the EasyInfo.co.za brand name.

"EasyInfo.co.za is committed to offering the best online service possible and providing a one-stop information service for users covering the full scope of information requirements.

"`It`s just a little too easy`, say some. For us ease is our business and if that is the case then we`re doing a good job," states Lipschitz.

To answer some questions - the information published on the EasyInfo.co.za personal directory service was obtained through an exclusive deal with Umfowize Publishers, owner of the Personal Pages, marking the first visible sign of the South African telecommunications de-regulation process.

Due to the increasing number of nation-wide requests to remove personal listings, the EasyInfo.co.za sourcing centre has been geared to handle real-time removal of data, which reflects immediately on the live systems. The company urges members of the public who wish to have their listings deleted from the personal directory service to call 086 111 4636 or e-mail their requests to marketing@easyinfo.co.za.

Lipschitz personally invites concerned members of the public to express their opinions to his personal e-mail address at alan@interface.co.za.