Pandora Asks Listeners to Share Their Emails With Romney
by Lois Beckett, ProPublica
08/09/2012 | 437 views | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
North Carolina resident Crystal Harris was listening to Garth Brooks' "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" when an ad appeared on her iPhone screen, followed by a pop-up message.

"To help Mitt Romney become the next president, Romney for President, Inc would like to use your email address 2014 tap OK to let Pandora share this info," the message read.

Harris took a screenshot of the request and tweeted it with a one-word comment: #fail.

"Don't harass me on my email. Don't stalk me on the apps that I use. To me, that just crossed the line," Harris said in an interview with ProPublica.

Pandora's targeted email sharing pitch isn't new, but it's being offered to political advertisers for the first time this year, a company spokeswoman said. Both Democrats and Republicans, and both local and national campaigns, have used the service to collect voter emails.

It's among the latest in a series of increasingly sophisticated tactics that campaigns are using to target narrow groups of voters online 2014 from sending ads to Internet users who have visited a candidate's website, to creating a mobile app for campaign volunteers that marks the names and addresses of nearby voters on a Google map.

In the case of the Pandora ad, it's not clear why the Romney pop-up appeared on Harris' screen 2014 whether she was targeted, because, for instance, she lives in a swing state, or because she was listening to Garth Brooks.

Pandora, which would not comment on any client's particular strategy, offers both these kinds of targeting: campaigns can send ads to particular listeners based on their favorite artist or type of music, as well as by their age, gender and state, county or congressional district.

Pandora said the email sharing feature simply gives listeners what they want. "Sometimes, a listener wants to learn more about a product that's being advertised on Pandora, whether it's a car, a movie, or a political candidate," said Sean Duggan, Pandora's vice president of advertising, in an emailed statement. "On mobile, in particular, we offer many ways for a listener to do this: tapping on a banner ad, tap-to-email, tap-to-call or even opting-in to receive emails from the advertiser."

"Pandora does not make public or share a user's registration information with third-parties without the user's explicit consent," Duggan said.

A Pandora spokeswoman added that the email sharing was "triple opt-in," since users have to click on the ad, then click OK, before Pandora shares their emails with a campaign or other advertiser.

Users who get emails from a campaign or advertiser always have the option to unsubscribe, the spokeswoman said.

The Romney campaign did not return a request for comment on the ad.

There is evidence that the Romney campaign pays attention to the musical taste of potential supporters. Earlier this year, the campaign told The New York Times that their online targeting research had revealed that people who like jazz were less likely to respond to their online ads.

Harris, who said she's a registered Democrat, was listening to Pandora on an afternoon run when she received several Romney ads in a row 2014 as well as a Pandora ad for the Obama campaign. Pandora said it was extremely rare for users to receive the same ad multiple times in a short period.

Harris said she loves Pandora but that political ads may convince her to upgrade to an ad-free version of the service.

Interested to learn more about how political groups are using your personal information? See our reporting on Obama's mobile app, tailored campaign emails and the new wave of targeted online ads.

Let us know if you've seen a targeted political ad on Pandora. Email us or send a screenshot to targeting2012@propublica.org.
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Ten Things You Need to Know for Friday
by Bryan Schott
May 24, 2013 | 4090 views | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Countdown: There are 166 days to the 2013 municipal elections, 249 days until the start of the 2014 Legislature, 525 days until the 2014 midterm elections and 962 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. 

An analysis says expanding Medicaid coverage will save Utah more than $130 million and would give health insurance to 123,000 residents [Tribune].

A new report ranks Utah #1 for economic outlook next year [Utah Policy, Tribune].

House Majority Leader Brad Dee goes on a European vacation with three lobbyists, but Dee insists the trip was above board because everybody paid their own way and they didn’t discuss politics [Tribune].

Former Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is caught on tape offering to get $2 million for Utah Businessman Darl McBride if he would shut down a website critical of another Utah businessman. That money was to come from a third Utah businessman who was in trouble with the Attorney General’s office [Tribune].

Former Legislator and current blogger Holly Richardson says she’s had enough with the “culture of corruption” permeating the Attorney General’s office [Holly on the Hill].

Sen. Orrin Hatch wants to hear from Utahns who think they have been inappropriately targeted by the IRS as part of his investigation into misconduct by the agency [Tribune].

Kennecott lays off 100 workers because of the massive landslide at their Bingham Canyon Mine [Tribune, Deseret News].

The Boy Scouts vote to allow gay members in their ranks [Deseret News].

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman launches a new political action committee to support Republicans who share his point of view [Tribune].

Gov. Gary Herbert says he is confident the state can work out a deal to avoid taxing the electricity used by the new National Security Agency data center at Camp Williams [Tribune].
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