FTC Addresses Mobile Marketing Opportunities and Concerns

In light of a newly emerging mobile marketplace and its surrounding issues, the FTC hosted a two-day town hall where Commissioner Jon Leibowitz advised marketers to err on the side of caution when speaking to concerns such as disclosure, intrusion, and location-based services.

Some argued that it was too soon to think about legislation in response to privacy concerns raised by mobile services. "We do not want to see more regulation on top of the patchwork," said panelist Fran Maier, TRUSTe’s Executive Director and President. "[There is] a generalized privacy policy we keep seeing with new applications. There are new distinct challenges that may not lend themselves to privacy law." Leibowitz warned advertisers of the FTC's watchful eye, but also expressed confidence in the market's promising future and its ability to self-regulate. More...

Hacking, Phishing and Spamming, Oh My!

In today’s eCommerce space, consumer need for trust is on the rise. Hacking, phishing, spamming, and other malicious attacks on consumers have generated great concern for the safety of both users and their machines. According to a recent Pew Study, three-quarters of internet users agree that they don’t like sending personal or credit card information online, therefore causing difficulty in growing email lists and converting shoppers into buyers.

In an effort to address concerns associated with email newsletter subscriptions, U.K. based Cheapflights turned to TRUSTe’s Email Privacy Program to help collect additional and better quality leads. Cheapflights.co.uk placed the Email Privacy Seal, which clearly states “We Don’t Spam”, at the point of email collection and saw an increase in monthly registrations by 26%. More...

Read Cheapflights.co.uk Case Study>

Tip: Program Compliance

TRUSTe conducts site scans on its licensee’s sites to ensure they are in compliance with TRUSTe’s program requirements. The scans helps highlights issues that are generally undetectable by the human eye. The following is a sample list of questions the compliance monitoring report addresses:

1. Is there a text link to the privacy statement on the licensee’s homepage?
2. Does the privacy statement provide a physical mailing address?
3. Does this website collect age/date of birth?
4. Are first party cookies found on the website? If so, is it reflected in the privacy statement?
5. Is the "Click to Verify" (CTV) seal located on the privacy statement?

TRUSTe reviews the scan results and presents a compliance report to the licensee. If applicable, TRUSTe will provide information on what changes need to be made on the site, and tips on how to correct those issues.

Read more tech-tips from our archive.

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