TRUSTe
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| TRUSTe | |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-Profit |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Key people | Fran Maier, Executive Director and President |
| Industry | Internet Privacy |
| Products | [1] |
TRUSTe is an independent non-profit organization best known for its Web Privacy Seal. TRUSTe runs the world’s largest privacy seal program, with more than 2,000 Web sites certified,[citation needed] including the major internet portals and leading brands such as IBM, Oracle Corporation, Intuit and eBay. TRUSTe states its purpose is to establish trusting relationships between individuals and online organizations based on respect for personal identity and information in the evolving networked world. TRUSTe is headquartered in San Francisco with an office in Washington D.C.[citation needed]
[edit] History
TRUSTe was founded in 1997 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Commerce.net to foster online commerce by helping businesses and other online organizations self-regulate privacy concerns.[citation needed]
Fran Maier, executive director and president of TRUSTe, joined the organization in 2001.[citation needed] Maier is one of the co-founders of Match.com.[citation needed]
In 2006, TRUSTe launched its Trusted Download Program, designed to separate “good” downloadable software from adware and spyware.[citation needed]
[edit] Controversies
Some critics charge that TRUSTe does not go far enough to punish seal holders that break TRUSTe’s rules and that the organization is not quick enough in revoking the seal on companies that violate privacy standards.[citation needed]
TRUSTe counters these charges with the argument that punishing “bad guys” and terminating rule breakers does not further TRUSTe’s mission of increasing trust between businesses and consumers. To accomplish that mission, TRUSTe works with companies to change business practices for the benefit of consumers.[citation needed]
