TRUSTe - Make Privacy Your Choice

For Immediate Release

TRUSTe WEIGHS IN AT SENATE HEARING ON SPAM

Independent Privacy Organization Asked to Submit Testimony on Solutions to E-Mail Problem

WASHINGTON and SAN FRANCISCO – May 21, 2003 – Fulfilling its role as a leading privacy organization and provider of privacy certification and seal programs, TRUSTe today announced that it has submitted testimony about the problem of spam and possible industry solutions for a U.S. Senate hearing to examine the issue.

Who: TRUSTe, Fran Maier, Executive Director

Highlights of TRUSTe's submitted testimony include:

Spam is threatening to kill the killer app, e-mail. More than half of consumer "watchdog" complaints received by TRUSTe are regarding spam and unwanted e-mail. Consumers are fed up and the ISPs responding to consumer calls for less illegitimate mail are blocking more than 40% of all e-mail as spam. Legitimate senders need rules to keep e-mail viable in a time when 15% of legitimate e-mail is not getting delivered creating spam "false positives."
Technology, Legislation, Consumer Education and Self-Regulation; all four approaches have their place in the fight against spam, but there is no silver bullet. A concerted approach needs to address spoofing and authentication and improve delivery of legitimate mail by reducing "false positives."
Identifying and reliably delivering legitimate e-mail is the cornerstone to solving the spam problem. Programs that can help to identify and guarantee the delivery of wanted e-mail frees ISPs and consumers to apply filters and blacklists to their fullest protective levels. TRUSTe oversees two legitimate commercial e-mail programs: Trusted Sender (the consumer perspective) and Bonded Sender (the ISP perspective.)

What: U.S. Senate, Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee Hearing to Examine Issues Related to Computer Spam

When: Wednesday, May 21, 2003, 9:30 A.M. EDT

Where: Senate Office 253

Contact: If you are a member of the press or analyst community and would like to receive this testimony or learn more about TRUSTe, please contact Carolyn Hodge at (415) 618-3415 or via e-mail at chodge@truste.org.

About TRUSTe
TRUSTe is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to enabling individuals and organizations to establish trusting relationships based on respect for personal identity and information in the evolving networked world.

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.

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Contacts:

Carolyn Hodge
TRUSTe
(415) 520-3415
mediarelations@truste.org

Matt Sullivan
FitzGerald Communications for TRUSTe
(703) 861-7078
truste@fitzgerald.com

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