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Privacy Compliance: Web Site 'Seals of Approval'As Web sites move to meet increasingly demanding privacy regulations, some have turned to "seals of approval" to advance their consumer appeal  and to keep up with the law. The Federal Trade Commission's Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule does allow "self-regulatory industry groups" to form their own monitoring and disciplinary procedures; for complying Web sites, these can serve as "safe harbor" in any enforcement action. Last month, the FTC closed the review process on the initial group of safe-harbor applicants: PrivacyBot.com, BBBOnline's Children's Advertising Review Unit, and the Entertainment Software Rating Board. (Other programs, such as TrustE, have applied to the FTC more recently.) What's the motivation for an education company to get involved? GOT School Inc. displays a TrustE stamp on its school fund-raising portal, and also has applied for a Better Business Bureau general-audience seal on the Web site. Obtaining a seal of approval is an "organized way" to ease customers' minds and calm their fears about buying online, GOTSchool spokesman Jason Atwood says. In order to receive a seal, the company clarified its privacy policy, putting all elements of its practice into words. "Since our audience is education based," he says, "we needed to make sure we say and do the right thing." BBBOnline and TrustE both take two to three months to review a site's application. "They go through the process of finding out: Do you sell the personal information you collect, how do you use it, can a person call up to find out what information you have on them? It's very rigorous," Atwood notes. "That's why they're trusted organizations. Our users see the seal on our site as more of a real thing," compared to a policy not certified by an outside group. Attorney Parry Aftab, a child safety and privacy advocate, agrees that seals of approval can be a great tool to help build consumers' confidence - "once they understand there are certain seals they can trust. The problem is that most consumers don't understand enough about privacy: how information on the Internet works, what's dangerous and what isn't, and how to tell the difference," she says. "That makes it hard for them to evaluate the different seal programs." Aftab, the author of "The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace," heads WiredKids.org, which has a "Central Site Registry" where parents have to give only one consent to cover all participating "family-friendly" sites. Wired Kids expects to apply for FTC safe-harbor status, and to provide seals of approval, by year's end. Do safe-harbor programs lessen the need for further online privacy laws? Aftab thinks that Internet issues such as kids' safety online, equal access, and educational support still demand attention from the public and from legislators. But, she allows, "self-regulatory groups make a huge difference - safety and privacy is good business." http://www.aftab.com | ||||
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©2007
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