Finalists for the 2005 “Most Trusted Company” Title Announced

TRUSTe and Ponemon Institute recently announced the 21 finalists for their second annual Most Trusted Company for Privacy Award. More than 7,000 consumers were surveyed to collect opinions regarding online companies’ privacy practices and history, and American Express, Amazon, and Proctor & Gamble came out on top. TRUSTe and Ponemon will now evaluate finalists’ policies and privacy records to select the Most Trusted Company of 2005. The survey findings also illustrate a number of national trends regarding consumer awareness of privacy. More...

Canadian Firm Identifies Best Practices for Mitigating Business Risk Through Effective Online Privacy Policies
by Terry McQuay

Responding to increased national privacy legislation, Nymity, a Toronto-based privacy risk-management firm, has conducted research to identify privacy policy best practices and analyze the practices of leading Canadian firms. Its research has resulted in the creation of a National Privacy Policy Index, which demonstrates the business risks of poor privacy policies and details 130 specific best practices. When it comes to putting good practices in place, Canada’s banking and telecommunications industries lead the pack. More...

TRUSTe Teaches Consumers How to Compare Web-Based Seals

In our continuing efforts to educate consumers about the value of TRUSTe seals, TRUSTe recently posted an article on its Web site about how to distinguish between the many online seals that customers may encounter. The article, which was also distributed across the United States and Canada through the North American Precis Syndicate, compares five types of seals -- reliability, security, vulnerability, privacy, and consumer ratings -- and rates each type for its ability to assure consumers’ data security.

You are welcome to use this article in your own privacy education campaigns. Feel free to link to the article on the TRUSTe Web site. If you would like to reproduce all or part of it in your branded materials, contact Carolyn Hodge at chodge@truste.org. In addition, let us know of other consumer education materials you would like to see TRUSTe develop. More...

JUST ANNOUNCED!

Interested in joining TRUSTe’s new Email Privacy Seal Program? Apply by December 31, 2005, and your organization will receive a special promotional discount. TRUSTe’s new seal program allows you to demonstrate your commitment to email privacy and good email practices. For program information, visit the TRUSTe Web site. To inquire about the discount, contact Heather Dorso at hdorso@truste.org.

DIRECT article: Good Web-Keeping Seal Helps Small Brands

The April 2005 issue of DIRECT, a trade magazine for the direct marketing industry, included an article profiling TRUSTe. The article focused on how TRUSTe can help small and mid-size businesses build trust with customers. It describes TRUSTe seal programs, the recently released data security guidelines, and tips for distinguishing direct-marketing emails from spam or scams. TRUSTe has published reprint rights to the article, and it is available for you to read on our Web site (as a PDF file).