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     inventory

This page provides a basic inventory of online privacy seals and other trustmarks, discussed in our Privacy and Consumers guides. It is illustrative rather than comprehensive. It includes non-profit (eg industry association) and commercial initiatives.

Research by the European Commission suggests that there are over 200 online trustmarks. Many of those marks are however restricted to particular jurisdictions or sectors and in most instances have only a handful of participants.

It is important to note that some marks appear on sites although the schemes that they represent are no longer being maintained by industry bodies or because a commercial service provider has ceased operation.

     BBBOnline

BBBOnline - offshoot of US industry body Better Business Bureau. The code of conduct covers privacy (inc children's privacy), security and dispute resolution

     BetterWeb

BetterWeb - an initiative of PriceWaterhouse Coopers. The code of conduct covers privacy, sales terms, security and dispute resolution.

     BuySafe

BuySafe - offers performance bonds for high-volume sellers on eBay. Sellers pay 1% of the selling price to BuySafe. BuySafe bonds issued by The Hartford Financial Services Group expire 30 days after the auction closes and are limited to US-based sellers who do a minimum of US$1,000 per month in eBay sales (and have at least 100 feedback points with a 98% feedback rating). The BuySafe trustmark signals that BuySafe has verified the seller's identities and financial stability. Sellers promise to refund money to the buyer or send replacement items if they do not fulfill the Terms of Sale.

     Casetrust

Casetrust is a non-profit initiative of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), CommerceNet Singapore (CNSG) and Retail Promotion Centre (RPC).

     Clicksure

Clicksure - UK and US commercial initiative. The Clicksure code of conduct covers privacy, security & retail performance, with independent audit random checks on compliance.

     CommerceTrust

CommerceTrust and ConsumerTrust are initiatives of CommerceNet Singapore (CNSG), a non-profit industry association. The seal has converged with TrustSg under the auspices of Singapore's National Trust Council.

     Confianza Online

Spain's Confianza Online scheme was established by the Spanish Ecommerce & Relationship Management Association (AECEM), Advertising Self-regulatory Organisation (AUTOCONTROL) and Interactive Advertising Bureau Spain (IAB-Spain) in 2003. It centres on the mark, an 'Ethical Code on E-commerce and Interactive Advertising' and an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism.

     CPAWebtrust

CPAWebtrust - US-based, with presence in EU and Canada. The code of conduct covers privacy and retail performance. An independent audit is conducted before the trustmark is granted. WebTrust was developed in 1997 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for e-commerce businesses to "indicate that their practices and policies, as stated in their advertising, have been attested to by a CPA. In the course of a WebTrust engagement, a CPA examines three areas of a company's website: business practice disclosures, transaction integrity, and information protection".

     EBtrust

Norway's EBTrust mark was developed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an independent (and internationally-recognised) certification body. The mark indicates that an 'eBusiness Management System' is compliant with the DNV's eBusiness standard. Compliance is more rigorous than most marks, with an interview of personnel, examination of records, observation of performance and assessment regarding operator ethics, infrastructure, security, marketing, process and organisation. It includes an annual assessment and recertification after three years.

     E-Commerce ILiM Certyfikat

Poland's E-Commerce ILiM Certyfikat mark, established in 2005, and run by government research agency the Instytut Logistyki i Magazynowania on behalf of the national Federation of Consumers and Office of Competition & Consumer Protection, seeks to indicate certification of e-tail operators. As of 2006 it covered four businesses.

     EHI Euro-Label

The German Euro-Label was established in 1999, independently of the broader pan-EU EuroLabel and is now associated with the Federal Association of German Mail Order Traders (bvh) after initial support from the German Consumers Association (AGV). As of mid-2006 it covered some 190 businesses.

     The E-Mark

The Danish e-mark was established by a group of consumer organisations and businesses, with government support, and seves as the official Danish accreditation for "safe and ethically responsible conduct and trade" on the net. The mark is administered by the eCommerce Foundation (E-Handelsfonden), a non-profit trust, anmd of of mid-2006 covered some 371 sites.

     eQ recommendation

The Hungarian eQ recommendation mark was launched in 2001 by the Országos Fogyasztóvédelmi Egyesület (the National Association for Consumer Protection, aka OFE) and Infomatikai Vállalkozások Szövetsége (Hungarian Association of IT Companies, aka IVSZ). As of 2006 it covered 24 organisations.

     eTick

eTick - Australian commercial initiative (encompassing the Australian Privacy Compliance Centre and the Australian Privacy Seal) that was established in 1999 but now appears to be inoperative, although its mark remains on some public and private sector sites.

     Euro-Label

Euro-Label is an electronic 'umbrella trustmark' for consumers and retailers, aimed as fostering growth of national and cross-border "e-transactions" within Europe by ensuring a common basis for trustworthy and fair online trading. It was established with financial support from the European Commission under the auspices of professional organisations from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Spain and Poland, along with EuroCommerce. Site bearing the mark must implement the European Code of Conduct for retail transactions, with supervision by the Euro-Label organisation. The Code of Conduct reflects European legislation, drawing in particular on the EU Directives on Electronic Commerce, Distance Selling and Data Protection. Euro-Label seek to ensure that the enterprise selling the product is reliable, selling conditions are clear and available on the website, the business respects data protection law, products will be delivered as specified when a consumer places an order and a dispute resolution procedure is in place if anything goes wrong during the transaction.

     Garantia Proteccion des Datos

The Garantia is a Spanish initiative managed by a Electronic Commerce Business Association. The ode of conduct covers privacy (including provisions regarding children, spam and cookies).

     GeoTrust

GeoTrust - US commercial 'site authentication' seal.

     HONcode

HONCode seal - the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health sites is concerned with the reliability and credibility of online health information. The seal signifies that the site owner complies with the Code of Conduct.

     ICRA

ICRA - content advisory scheme developed by the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA), discussed in the Censorship & Free Speech guide on this site.

     IMRG Hallmark

IMRG Hallmark - broad trustmark from Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) - the "industry body for global e-retailing". Around 25 entities have been accredited.

     i-Privacy

i-Privacy (ORA) - an Australian online privacy audit and seal scheme launched in 2003, operated on a commercial basis and centred on health information. Site operators gain a 'privacy seal' or 'sensitive information seal' stating they have passed an audit of their privacy procedures, information access, data flow and electronic security.

     JADMA seal

JADMA seal is an initiative of the Japan DMA (JADMA) Japan Direct Marking Association and Japan Chamber of Commerce. The seal reflects a broad offline 'fair practice' code

     Labelsite

Labelsite is a French initiative managed by two retailers & distance sellers associations. The code of conduct covers privacy, marketing and retail performance. An independent audit report is conducted before the seal is granted.

     IIA Ladybird

Ladybird - best practice code developed by the Australian Internet Industry Association (IIA) and covering ISPs.

     Luxembourg e-Commerce Certified

The Luxembourg e-Commerce Certified mark, launched in 2002, illustrates the small scale of some marks. It is sponsored by the Ministère de l'Economie et du Commerce and managed by the Luxembourg Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce) and Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Trades & Handicraft), covering a mere ten businesses as of early 2006.

     PACE

Portugal's PACE mark, notionally launched by the Portuguese E-commerce Association (ACEP) in 2003 but implemented from 2007, centres on e-banking and involves business process assessment encompassing matters such as privacy, data protection, accessibility, authentication, intellectual property protection; terms and conditions, dispute resolution and marketing.

     PrivacyBot

PrivacyBot is a commercial online privacy seal program created by Invisible Hand Software.

     PublicEye

PublicEye is a US commercial e-business seals service.

     Reliable Merchants

Another US-based service, the ReliableMerchants 'reliability seal' is the centrepiece of the "selective community with thousands of eBay sellers", competing with SquareTrade and BuySafe. Typically, eBay sellers pay US$14 per quarter to display a reliability seal: potential bidders clicking on the seal are able to view statistics about the seller's feedback on the seal isdsuer's site.

     Safemall

An initiative of the Korea Association of Information & Telecommunication, the Safemall trustmark hasn't secured traction outside South Korea.

     Safer Shopping

A German initiative under the auspices of business organisations and in competition with TrustedShops (see below), Safer Shopping was established in 2001 and as of mid 2006 covered some 80 businesses.

     Segala

The Segala mark, based in Eire but with global coverage (although reportedly covering 30 businesses as of early 2006) aims to enable site owners to clearly indicate that the site has been independently audited and certified for accessibility, compliance with industry standards and legislation. The mark is machine-readable, accordingly being promoted as compatible with ICRA or other schemes, and links to a certificate that signifies the levels of accessibility conformance. The mark was launched in 2005.

     SOAP

Spotrebitelsky Audit Obchodnich Podminek (SOAP) was established in 2006 by a Czech Republic consumer organisation, without government involvement, and aims to "improve legal consciousness between entrepreneurs and consumers". As of late 2006 its mark featured on some 50 businesses.

     SquareTrade

SquareTrade - commercial initiative by US dispute resolution service. Code deals with privacy, dispute resolution and retail performance.

     Thuiswinkel Waarborg

The Netherlands Thuiswinkel waarborg mark was established in 2001 to promote "distance selling and enhanced consumer protection". It is based on an alliance between the Nederlandse Thuiswinkel Organisatie (Dutch distance selling organisation), the Consumentenbond (consumer advocacy group) and Sociaal Economische Raad (a government agency). The mark appears to currently cover some 400 enterprises.

     TRUSTe

TRUSTe is a US-based seal that is primarily concerned with privacy. It was initially established by EFF and CommerceNet.

     TrustSg

TrustSg is a nation-wide trust mark initiative by Singapore's National Trust Council to "help build confidence in e-commerce transactions especially in the area of privacy and security". Merchants are required to comply with the Council's code of conduct for online business practice, covering "disclosure, privacy, fulfillment, best business practices, and protection of minors and the elderly". It's converged with

     TrustedShops

TrustedShops - EU commercial initiative under auspices of major German insurance group in cooperation with provincial consumer protection agencies. As of mid-2006 it covered over 1,500 online shops.

     TrustUK

TrustUK is a government-endorsed industry body issuing the "TrustUK e-hallmark". Managed by an e-commerce business alliance & consumer body. The trustmark is granted to entities that agree to comply with privacy, marketing and retail performance "accreditation criteria".

     W-Mark

The Eire-based W-mark is described as "a website certification programme" offered by the Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA), a private, self-funded quality assurance organisation. It was launched in 2004, reportedly covering over 40 enterprises in Eire, the UK, Australia and the US.

     WebAssured

WebAssured is a US commercial trustmark service.

     Webtrader

Webtrader is a Dutch initiative managed by the Netherlands national consumers association. The code of conduct covers privacy, retail performance and marketing.

     Which? Web Trader

Which? Web Trader was a UK retail-oriented scheme launched by Consumers Association (CA) in 1999 and closed in 2003 on grounds of commercial unsustainability




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