Summary: Under its National Change of Address program, the Postal Service collects and widely disseminates change-of-address information reported by postal customers. To do this, the Postal Service uses 24 licensees--primarily mail-advertising and credit information firms--to provide the address-correction service. The Postal Service's oversight of the program has fallen short in the timely prevention and detection of possible breaches of the licensing agreement and potential violations of federal privacy law. GAO identified weaknesses in Postal Service oversight relating to (1) "seeding" files to detect unauthorized uses of addresses, (2) auditing the performance of software that licensees use to match their mailing lists with National Change of Address program files, (3) reviewing program advertisements that licensees propose to use, and (4) investigating complaints about the program. In GAO's view, use of program data by licensees to create a "new-movers list" would be inconsistent with the limitations imposed by the Privacy Act. The Postal Service did not explain in the acknowledgment form--to be signed by customers of licensees--that program data are not to be used to create or maintain such lists.
