The TRUSTe Advocate

Winners of the 2006 Most Trusted Company for Privacy Award Named

On March 7, TRUSTe and the Ponemon Institute released the names of the companies that received the first, second, and third highest ranking in the two organizations’ annual Most Trusted Company Award survey. Companies are nominated for the award via a consumer survey, and the finalists’ privacy policies and practices are then evaluated by a panel of experts. And the winners are...

An Email Authentication Primer
by Tom Bartel

Email authentication has two primary benefits: It stymies forgery of email messages and allows senders to build a positive reputation with receivers based upon their mailing behavior. Yet many companies, particularly small ones, have never heard of email authentication. In five quick steps, Tom Bartel of Return Path explains how to implement the three major authentication schemes currently in use. More...

Sony Scandal Illuminates the Limits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
by Sonia Arrison

This winter, bloggers discovered that the anti-piracy measures on SonyBMG music CDs secretly installed a rootkit that put users’ privacy and data security at risk. Even computers run by the U.S. Department of Defense were affected, making Sony's ploy to protect its intellectual property a menace to national security. One angle that most media reports of the scandal missed, however, is how it highlights the inadequacies of a key piece of federal legislation: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. More...

TRUSTe Customer Survey Reveals High Satisfaction Levels and Shapes New Directions

In 2005 TRUSTe surveyed almost 100 members to gauge overall satisfaction with our program. The findings show that sealholders are pleased with the results of displaying the seals, value the e-newsletters and KnowledgeNet events, and love the new online seal-application system. The responses we received are also guiding TRUSTe’s initiatives for 2006. More...

Coming Soon at TRUSTe: An Email Webinar and a New Newsletter

Keep an eye out for our upcoming webinar series, “Grow Your Email List: A Look at the TRUSTe Email Privacy Seal”! Join TRUSTe’s director of product development and some of our key clients as they discuss how the Email Privacy Seal has helped strengthen their email practices and increase their email lists. Look in your mailboxes for announcements about the webinars in the next several weeks.

In addition, April will mark the launch of TRUSTe’s new consumer newsletter. This quarterly e-mail publication will be distributed to consumers who sign up through TRUSTe’s Web site and other online venues. Each issue will contain consumer-oriented privacy resources, tips on how readers can better protect their personally identifiable information, and common privacy-related terms they may see in the news. The goal is to increase the visibility of the TRUSTe brand -- and the value of your seal.

For more information on either benefit, contact Krystal Putman, TRUSTe marketing manager, at kputman@truste.org.

Tip: Determine whether changes to your Web site are “material changes” requiring you to notify all site users and TRUSTe. by Heidi Berger

If your company makes changes to the way you collect, use, or disclose your customers' personally identifiable information, give them notice so they can choose whether they want to continue sharing their information with you. Give TRUSTe notice, too, in order to keep your seal. More...

Got Feedback?

We would like to hear what you think of the TRUSTe Advocate. Send an email with your comments and suggestions to newsletter@truste.org.

TRUSTe is an independent, nonprofit organization that administers the Internet's first and largest privacy seal program.

685 Market Street, Suite 270
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 520-3400
Email: privacyseals@truste.org
Web: www.truste.org

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributing authors. TRUSTe presents these views as a service to our members, and does not necessarily share or endorse these views.