On March 7, TRUSTe and the Ponemon Institute released the names of the companies that have received the highest ranking in the two organizations’ annual Most Trusted Company Award survey:

1. P&G
2. HP
3. E-LOAN

In a two-stage award evaluation process, the 20 companies rated most trusted by an unaided consumer survey were subsequently reviewed by a panel of experts from TRUSTe, Ponemon Institute, and Watchfire. The finalists’ privacy and data security policies and practices were tested for consistent care.

“The Most Trusted Company Award illustrates the heart of TRUSTe’s mission,” said Fran Maier, president and executive director of TRUSTe. “It celebrates the brands that respect people’s privacy and encourages a safer digital marketplace. These three companies are trusted by consumers and experts alike. They are different in size and scope, helping to prove that security concerns aren’t limited to certain industries or giant conglomerates but apply to everyone.”

“People choose to trust P&G brands and products billions of times a day,” said Sandra Hughes, chief privacy officer of P&G, which received the highest overall ranking. “Our strength depends on maintaining their trust. We have designed our Web sites around privacy protection using transparency, consistency, and sound privacy policies. This acknowledgement of our trustworthiness by both consumers and experts shows that the work is paying off.”

The winners will be recognized at an award ceremony officiated by Rep. Mary Bono of California on Wednesday, March 7, in Washington, D.C. This is the second annual Most Trusted Company Award. Previous winners were HP and eBay. For more information, visit our web site at www.truste.org/about/most_trusted_company.php.

 

Ponemon Institute