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Interestingly, as the lawsuit proceeded, the Local Search Association started their own nationwide opt-out system. The group eventually won the lawsuit, striking down the law.

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The Local Search Association (LSA) - an industry group representing the largest phonebook companies - sued the city, arguing that the ordinance violated their free speech rights. Phonebook companies have fought efforts to reduce distribution every step of the way In 2010, the city of Seattle passed the first ordinance requiring phonebook companies to let residents opt out of getting the yellow pages, and assigned the companies penalties for each unwanted book delivered. This is partly because ad rates are often calculated based off the number of phonebooks distributed, not actual usage phonebook usage.Īs a result, these companies have fought efforts to reduce phonebook distribution every step of the way - even as fewer and fewer people use them.

Although they list all businesses in a given area in small type, a subset of businesses pay for ads or for larger type.Īnd even though phonebook ad revenues are shrinking - and shifting to digital directories - a handful of companies (mainly Dex Media, AT&T, Hibu, and Verizon) still make a healthy profit off yellow pages distributed in the US. The yellow pages are an advertisement disguised as a directory. Stacks of unopened phonebooks sit outside. However, critics say that it's not reliable - and that if you opt out, there's a pretty good chance you'll get a phonebook anyway. Now, if you don't use the phonebook, manufacturers have created a system that lets you opt out online. Meanwhile, many states legally require phone companies to deliver the white pages as a public service, though these laws are gradually disappearing over time.

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So why are phonebooks still regularly delivered to most American households every year? Mainly because companies have fought regulations to phase out the yellow pages out of self-interest - they're packed full of ads, and make these companies money. But for most people, they've become useless - and simply recycling or throwing away the 650,000 tons of phonebooks distributed nationally each year costs municipalities somewhere between $45 and $62 million. Phonebooks were once extremely useful: before the internet, they were the main way we had of looking up phone numbers and addresses of local businesses or acquaintances. You might have also gotten the white pages (listing residential addresses), either as a separate volume or combined as one book.Īnd if you're like 70 percent of Americans, you probably won't even open the phonebook once before the next year's batch arrives.Īround 70 percent of americans don't use phonebooks

Last month, you probably got a fat new yellow pages phonebook (listing all the businesses in your area) delivered to your doorstep.

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