E-commerce has set up its own watchdog. The organization is called TRUSTe. TRUSTe has been in existence for three years. TRUSTe was set up to build users’ trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the principles of disclosure and informed consent. When a site displays a TRUSTe seal, it is saying that it will notify its customers of what information it is tracking, how it is using the information, and what companies it shares the data with.30
TRUSTe actively encourages and helps businesses institute voluntary privacy policies and statements. However it has no authority to mandate the policies, or does it ensure the policies provide a minimum level of personal-information privacy protection.
The fact that e-commerce does not always abide by the rules of the TRUSTe organization is the reason privacy advocates are complaining. They feel that members of TRUSTe are inadequately monitored, and it has been the consumers and privacy advocates that actually report violations. Once the violations are reported and receive press coverage, the companies change their privacy policies.31
Even though President Clinton has concerns about online privacy, he still believes in e-commerce self-regulation based on the statement he made in a press release on March 6, 2000. The President urged online business leaders to improve privacy protection on the Internet by challenging the Internet companies to engage in effective self-regulation by participating in programs like TRUSTe.32
TRUSTe has recognized that there is a problem especially with third party ad servers. In a press release on March 7, 2000, it announced the formation of an Advisory Committee to consider its requirements and the challenges they pose to licensees engaging the services of third party ad servers. The committee is comprised of experts from inside and outside of the Internet industry. Their goal is to arrive at a comprehensive set of recommendations that represent the many aspects of the privacy discussion.33
On July 25,2000 TRUSTe kicked off its Privacy Partnership 2000 campaign along with 12 of the most recognized Internet companies. The campaign is designed to educate and empower consumers to control their personal information online. The public will be notified about the campaign through banner ads, radio public service announcements, and print advertisements that will run throughout the month of August in 26 major metropolitan publications.34
TRUSTe can only recommend what commercial Web sites should do to protect consumer privacy. It is up to businesses to answer to consumer privacy concerns directly, honestly and effectively.