Comments from Harold McGraw III, President and Chief Executive Officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies, on FTC "Georgetown Internet Privacy Policy Survey" Results.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 1999--

"The results demonstrate that business has stepped up its response to the protection of customer privacy on-line. This is a critical development because the future of electronic commerce hinges on consumer trust. Most importantly, the results suggest that self-regulation has made an impact and should be given the opportunity to work."

"The percentage of sites with posted privacy policies more than doubled in about a year, marking significant progress and clearly showing that companies that use the Internet to sell and market goods and services are responding to their customers and are moving in the right direction. This progress reflects the success of the education and awareness programs conducted by government and industry."

The McGraw-Hill Companies, whose businesses and websites carry such renowned brands as Standard & Poor's, Business Week and McGraw-Hill educational and professional materials, has taken a leadership role in protecting the privacy of its customers online. The company has worked with governments and businesses to formulate policies that will encourage self-regulation of customer privacy on online services.

The McGraw-Hill Companies' customer privacy policy tells the buyer what data is to be collected, allows the customer to choose whether information will be shared, prevents outside tampering and allows customers to review and correct the data we collect from them.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading information services provider meeting worldwide needs in education, business, finance, the professions and government. The corporation employs 16,000 people located in more than 400 offices in 32 countries. Sales in 1998 were $3.7 billion.