RackNine Inc working proactively with Elections Canada and Law Enforcement Agencies
In response to media requests, RackNine Inc. would like to provide the following statement from Mr. Matt Meier, CEO of RackNine Inc:
“As CEO of Racknine, I was shocked and distressed to learn that some party had used our services to try and disrupt voting during the 2011 federal election. We take these allegations very seriously. Our dialling services have been used successfully by hundreds of campaigns to inform voters of where and when to vote in many elections. We believe that our technology has helped engage more voters in the electoral process.
We are committed to ensuring that those who misused our services will face the full penalty of law, and will continue to work proactively with Elections Canada and all law enforcement agencies to help identify the culprits.”
It is important to note, as has been reported in various media outlets including The Ottawa Citizen who first broke the news, that the individuals who abused RackNine’s services attempted to hide their identity from RackNine itself.
“The customer tried to make themselves difficult to trace,” said a source familiar with the investigation. “They went to an effort to misdirect and to conceal their identity from Racknine. “They weren’t particularly smart about it,” said the source. “They made the recordings from a cellphone that they bought in cash. This is a common approach by criminals — you pay cash for a prepaid cellphone. So they did this, and that gave them the illusion of security. (The Ottawa Citizen, February 23, 2012)”
RackNine is a non-partisan firm, free from any party affiliation, bias, or designation. We couldn’t possibly have known that the fake calls were made using our services. We estimate that over 10 million phone calls went out during the 2011 campaign. RackNine does not monitor outgoing calls made by customers through the automated service, we just provide the software and hardware platforms.
Blaming RackNine for any wrongdoings using those services is akin to blaming Apple for any criminal activity in which the use of iPhones are involved. Or accusing the phone company for any death threats uttered through their phone lines. Or making a car rental company accountable because the driver run over someone with the car he rented.
RackNine is trying to help Elections Canada in every way possible, and we are committed to ensuring that those who attempted to disrupt the voting process will be identified and reported to the appropriate authorities.
We look forward to continue to offer a first-rate voter contact product to campaigns across the country.
Update (February 27, 2012):
The Edmonton Journal has published an article titled “RackNine not under probe in robocalls affair” that will hopefully help clarify the whole issue and answer many of the questions we keep receiving these days. You can read it at the following link:
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Simons+RackNine+under+probe+robocalls+affair/6218645/story.html
Unknown
This is a stark reminder that the integrity of any company is only as far reaching as the media would allow. It will be a reminder for all organizations in the industry that believe that minding their own business and doing the right thing in terms of cooperating with law enforcement agencies is no guarantee of not being demonized because of obscure political interests. If you wish to do business having integrity, remove yourself from the realm of politics, there’s no other way around it. There is an opportunity for many discussions and improved processes as a result of this unfortunate event.
Rack Nine
It wouldn’t be fair to judge everybody by the acts of a few wrongdoers, there are many honest politicians who would never even dream of transgressing the rules.
We urge everyone to let the enforcement agencies and Elections Canada do their jobs before jumping to any conclusions and generalizations.
Unknown
Thank you for posting my comments. I was researching for technology and telephony providers for my new group of directors and only heard of your company via the incident Our interest is to commence a VAR agreement to service an untapped market and I entered myself into the inquiry of Racknine.
In spite of me using a fake name and a fake e-mail address I only deal with companies that executive business with integrity. It may sound contradictory but that’s the way I am.
Thank you again,
Unknown.
Rack Nine
Dear unknown,
Sorry but unfortunately we are less than impressed by your credentials.
I’d recommend that you set your sights elsewhere and do not waste your time trying to post misleading comments here again. We’re doing our best to screen out shady characters whose integrity is questionable. That’s just the way we are.
Thank you.
Kristin
given the prevalance of this type of fraud, are you considering a screening process for calls during campaigns going forward?
Rack Nine
Kristin,
As stated above RackNine does not monitor outgoing calls made by customers through the automated service, we just provide the software and hardware platforms. Blaming RackNine for any wrongdoings using those services is akin to blaming Apple for any criminal activity in which the use of iPhones are involved. Or the telephone company for that matter.
gail
seems to me your company got caught up in the same problem that megaupload is having. you provide the service your not the policeman, and people abuse or take advantage of your service. you provide a platform not the content. good luck with that, i hope the whole mess gets straightened around.as for the crime it’s very serious i hope you can help the authorities out. we may be seeing some by-elections or the dreaded full blown national election on the horizon. huge problem and big news next week. good luck with your business.
Rack Nine
They are completely different cases. What we’re talking about here are fake pre-recorded voice messages that we couldn’t possibly have known were being sent, as opposed to illegal content residing in servers and being downloaded by million of users on a daily basis. We have zero tolerance towards that type of activity taking place on our servers and have a very strict termination policy that we applied on many occasions.
As stated in our Privacy Policy,
https://www.racknine.com/privacy-policy/
“We cooperate with government and law enforcement officials and private parties to enforce and comply with the law. We will disclose any information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to respond to claims and legal process (including without limitation subpoenas), to protect our property and rights or the property and rights of a third party, to protect the safety of the public or any person, or to prevent or stop activity we consider to be illegal or unethical.”
Also worth reading are our Terms of Service,
https://www.racknine.com/terms-of-service/
“RackNine may remove any item of User Content (whether posted to a website hosted by RackNine or posted to this Site) and/or terminate a User’s access to this Site or the Services found at this Site for posting or publishing any material in violation of this Agreement, or for otherwise violating this Agreement (as determined by RackNine in its sole and absolute discretion), at any time and without prior notice.”