TRUSTe STRENGTHENS PRIVACY CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS WITH VERSION 8 OF LICENSE AGREEMENT

Child's Advocate Parry Aftab and Washington Post CTO Ralph Terkowitz Also Appointed to the Board

San Francisco, CA – December 10, 2002 – TRUSTe, the non-profit organization widely known for its leading privacy certification and seal program, today announced the availability of version 8 of its license agreement.  The new agreement is available now at the TRUSTe website (www.truste.org).  As new companies join the TRUSTe program, or as current members undergo the annual recertification, they will adopt the standards and policies set forth in version 8.  Today's announcement is the culmination of a yearlong effort and ongoing commitment to strengthen the certification and compliance elements of the TRUSTe program.

"TRUSTe is guided by its strong belief that accountability, transparency, and a clear view of an organizations' business practices are essential to building trust," said Fran Maier, executive director for TRUSTe.  "The new version of the license agreement strengthens the TRUSTe program requirements thereby further assuring consumers that their privacy remains a priority in this challenging and rapidly changing business climate."

TRUSTe periodically revisits its license agreement to ensure it best reflects emerging trends and technologies, evolving practices, and systemic issues that impact consumer privacy. With substantive input from policymakers, regulators, consumer groups and other leaders in the privacy arena, TRUSTe continues to codify best practices into new versions of its agreement.  Moving forward, TRUSTe will take a similar approach, but also incorporate the use of guidelines to best anticipate implementation issues and gather additional data points from the community at-large.

Changes to the license agreement adopted in version 8 include:

• Choice for Sharing with Third Parties: Requires companies to provide consumers with the choice to opt-out before sharing their personal information with any third party unless the sharing is part of a third-party service relationship.  Choice no longer hinges on a company's definition of its primary business purpose.
• Policy Change Requirements: Requires licensees to adhere to user preferences for a specified period of time. These preference changes, also known as "Shelf Life Preferences", must be maintained for no less than 12 months with up front disclosure of intended changes.  Furthermore, companies must notify consumers as to the length of time their preferences will remain fixed at the time of registration and via email when preferences expire.
• Consumer Notice: To better ensure clarity and robust notice, companies are required to gain TRUSTe approval on all notices of a change in practice.
• Privacy Policy Consistency: Clarifies the requirement that companies ensure that their Comprehensive Privacy Statement is consistent with all other privacy disclosures, such as FAQs and P3P statements.

Companies that complete the TRUSTe certification process and agree to comply with ongoing TRUSTe oversight and consumer dispute resolution procedures are given the right to display the TRUSTe Privacy Seal ­ the most recognized symbol of trust on the Internet according to Cheskin Research.  Evidenced by the significant number of companies that fail to certify because of choice and COPPA issues, the TRUSTe Privacy Seal is displayed only by the most reputable of companies.

Today's news is the latest in a line of steps that TRUSTe continues to take to strengthen its certification and compliance infrastructure.

Actions taken include:

• In August, TRUSTe announced a strategic partnership with Watchfire Corporation, a provider of website management software and services, to automate the auditing and monitoring of licensee websites regarding ongoing certification compliance.
• TRUSTe formalized an Appeals Panel for its Consumer Watchdog Dispute Resolution Program, which has helped thousands of consumers resolve privacy disputes to date.  The appeals panel, with members drawn from academia, consumer advocacy and TRUSTe's board of directors, aims to provide accountability not only for TRUSTe licensees, but also for Watchdog program practices.
• TRUSTe upgraded its technology infrastructure to automate aspects of the Watchdog Dispute Resolution Program allowing for increased scalability and improved responsiveness to the growing number of Watchdog complaints filed each year.

Companies interested in learning more about the TRUSTe Privacy Seal and Certification program should contact Email or 415.618.3405.

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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