For Immediate Release
| For Immediate Release TRUSTe ELECTS FORMER FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSIONER CHRISTINE VARNEY CHAIRPERSON Child's Advocate Parry Aftab and Washington Post CTO Ralph Terkowitz Also Appointed to the Board San Francisco, CA February 11, 2002 TRUSTe, the leading privacy certification and seal program, today announced three appointments to its board of directors: former Federal Trade Commissioner Christine Varney; Ralph Terkowitz, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO); and Parry Aftab, Internet safety and privacy expert and child advocate. In addition, Varney was elected by the 13 members of the board of directors to serve as Chairperson. These appointments reflect TRUSTe's ongoing commitment to strengthen its board membership with a broader base of consumer advocates, former government regulators and leading companies. Christine Varney was re-appointed to the board and elected Chairperson on February 6, 2003, after a hiatus from serving as one of the founding TRUSTe boardmembers Varney will lead TRUSTe's board, leveraging her current role as advisor to the Online Privacy Alliance and the Liberty Alliance. Varney succeeds Lori Fena, TRUSTe's Founder, and Chairman since its inception in 1997, who was elected to Chairman Emeritus. Varney currently heads the Internet practice group of Hogan & Hartson, one of the largest law firms in the country, where her clients have included Netscape, Ebay, AOL, DoubleClick and RealNetworks. Previously, Varney served as a Federal Trade Commissioner, where she was the Clinton Administration's leading official on Internet issues. In addition, Varney served as Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Cabinet in Clinton's Administration. "Since initially serving on TRUSTe's board of directors I have observed with great satisfaction the growing number of Fortune 500 companies that display the seal and the organization's extended reach to international sites," said Varney. "By rejoining TRUSTe's board, I look forward to helping the organization play an even greater role in shaping the global privacy landscape." Ralph Terkowitz has been with The Washington Post Company for more than 20 years and currently serves as CTO. Terkowitz was the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Publisher of the Post's electronic publishing subsidiary, Digital Ink. Digital Ink launched a number of well-regarded Internet products, including washingtonpost.com, which continues to be one of the most visited news and information sites on the Web. "I think that consumers and enterprises will face increasingly significant privacy issues in the near term. Joining TRUSTe's board of directors is an opportunity to help companies enhance their privacy policy for both their own and their customer's benefit," said Terkowitz. "TRUSTe's seal programs and oversight have had a significant positive effect on the privacy issue to date and have the potential to play an even more critical role in the future." Parry Aftab is a data security, privacy and cyberspace lawyer, as well as an author and child advocate. She acts as a consultant to the children's Internet industry, helping improve compliance with the law, while improving the Internet experience for children. As the Executive Director of Wiredpatrol.org, the largest online safety and educational program in cyberspace, Aftab works with law enforcement to police the Internet. Her first book, "A Parents' Guide to the Internet...and How to Protect Your Children in Cyberspace", was released in 1998 and followed up in 2000 by "The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace." "In my work as an advocate for children on the Internet, I have witnessed firsthand TRUSTe's contribution to the issue of children's privacy," said Aftab. "By joining TRUSTe's board, I see an opportunity to help grow the established TRUSTe Children's Privacy Seal Program and to help industry strengthen their commitment to privacy overall." The newly appointed members join the following board members for a total of 13:
About TRUSTe Founded in 1997, TRUSTe runs an award-winning global privacy certification and seal program. Its seal programs are considered Safe Harbors for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the EU Safe Harbor Framework. Today, TRUSTe maintains the largest privacy seal program with more than 1,400 Web sites certified throughout the world including AOL, Microsoft, IBM, Nationwide and The New York Times. TRUSTe's mission extends standards, certification and oversight into email with Bonded Sender and wireless with the Wireless Advisory Committee. For more information on TRUSTe please visit www.truste.org. | | Contacts: Carolyn Hodge Dominic Ybarra |
| © 1997 - 2008 TRUSTe. All Rights Reserved. |