Online Privacy Seals Lack Significance

Feb. 4 -- Like most users, you're alarmed at the myriad ways that companies exploit the Internet to collect, buy, and sell your personal information.

You know you should read all those Web site privacy statements carefully, but really, who has the time? Instead, you give personal information only to reputable companies, and you look for some kind of privacy seal on each Web site. So you're protected, right? Well, not exactly.

An increasing number of Web sites proudly display privacy seals that say "Reviewed by TrustE site privacy statement" or "Privacy, BBBOnLine," (with a big icon of a lock).

TrustE is a nonprofit organization started by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the CommerceNet Consortium and sponsored by several major companies including AT&T Wireless, Intuit, and Microsoft.

BBBOnline is a subsidiary of the long-standing Council of Better Business Bureaus, which is supported by the dues of hundreds of companies nationwide. The TrustE privacy seal is now displayed on more than 1,300 Web sites, while BBBOnline privacy seals can be found on more than 700 sites.

Soft Seal Standards

What consumer-friendly practices must these companies follow to get a privacy seal? You may be surprised to know that it boils down to just three: Companies must tell you what their practices are, abide by them, and give you the option to opt out of sharing your personal data with other organizations.

Specifically, according to the TrustE Web site, member companies must provide easy access to straightforward privacy statements that disclose what personal information will be gathered, how it will be used, and with whom it will be shared. The statement must also tell you what choices are available to you regarding how information is used, what safeguards are in place to secure your information, and how you can update or correct inaccuracies.

Companies must also provide consumers with the choice to opt out of "internal secondary uses and third-party distribution for secondary uses… unless the sharing is part of a third-party service relationship" such as one with a shipper or retailer. And there are additional requirements that companies must fulfill when they decide to change their practices.