Advertising Platforms Already Adopting Program to Enhance Service Offerings, Achieve Compliance and Bring More Value to Consumers
New York, NY – March 22, 2011 – Today, at the OMMA Behavioral conference, TRUSTe, the leading privacy trustmark and provider of privacy solutions, unveiled TRUSTed Data – a new certification program for third-party data collection – expanding its suite of online privacy programs and giving the advertising industry yet another tool for building consumer trust in targeted advertising. Companies that meet the requirements for TRUSTed Data will also receive an ALLOW status on TRUSTe’s recently announced Internet Explorer 9 compatible TRUSTed Tracking Protection List (TPL). This new program will also serve to address any Do-Not-Track header programs as the industry works on implementation specifics and consensus.
In addition, TRUSTe announced that companies are already choosing certification under the new program. Specific Media has become the first digital media company to meet the requirements and receive certification under the new program; and InsightExpress, a leading digital marketing research firm, is undergoing the certification process. TRUSTed Data immediately indicates that a company’s internal privacy controls are fully compliant with TRUSTe’s standards of transparency, choice and accountability.
“TRUSTe’s new TRUSTed Data program allows businesses to keep pace with the rapid changes occurring in online advertising privacy compliance, while maintaining consistency and ease of use for their customers,” said Kevin Trilli, vice president of product management for TRUSTe. “As the industry works toward a uniform mechanism of providing privacy notice and choice, consumers can rely on TRUSTe to simplify the complex determination of how to receive good ads – but only from companies that respect their privacy.”
“TRUSTe meets a critical need in the industry as an independent privacy pragmatist – providing consumers privacy education and choices so that they can determine their personal privacy boundaries,” said Craig Spiezle, ;executive director and president of the ;Online Trust Alliance. “By introducing privacy standards for third-party data collection practices, and its corresponding ‘Allow’ list, TRUSTe will raise the bar for all third-party advertising and tracking approaches, which in turn makes it easier to identify those who should be blocked.”
All of TRUSTe’s privacy solutions for online targeted advertising are being highlighted in a featured sponsor presentation at OMMA Behavioral today.
TRUSTe’s TRUSTed Data – Program Details
Third-party data companies deliver targeted advertising, personalized content delivery and analytics based on consumer behavior on the Internet. Based on extensive surveys, TRUSTe has found that most consumers are agreeable to receiving relevant targeted advertising, as long as they are given notice and choice and are shown that their personal data is respected. The ALLOW status gives consumers an easy way to differentiate the responsible players that do just that. TRUSTe’s TPL also includes a BLOCK list that ensures consumers are not exposed to companies that do not meet this minimum standard.
Participation in TRUSTe’s DAA-approved TRUSTed Ads program – an OBA self-regulatory service – or demonstration that they meet the self-regulatory principles is a key criterion for certification in the new program.
Like all of its online advertising privacy solutions, the new program has been carefully designed to give agencies, advertisers, networks and publishers the ability to easily meet self-regulatory requirements and to ensure the most responsible privacy practices, while giving consumers clear notice about how their personal data is used.
“TRUSTe enables us to provide an even higher level of transparency to our clients and their customers. By being transparent about the use of consumer data, we are simultaneously ; educating consumers and strengthening the reputation of our clients’ brands by showing a mutual commitment to responsibility in this evolving space,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO and co-founder of Specific Media, a next generation media platform. “In addition, by being the first digital media company to be certified through this new program, we further Specific Media’s strong reputation for privacy compliance.”
“Ad agencies, media and marketers rely on us as a way to optimize their marketing initiatives – to increase their advertising effectiveness and enhance their brand communications,” said Marc Ryan, senior vice president and chief research officer at InsightExpress, a leading digital marketing research firm. “Certification through TRUSTe’s new program allows us to bring even more value to our clients by addressing the privacy needs of their customers – the consumers. In the online world, TRUSTe immediately communicates to consumers that their privacy is respected and their choices observed.”
The full criteria for TRUSTe’s TRUSTed Data privacy certification can be found here /privacy-certification-standards/3rd-party-data-collection/
New Program Builds on TRUSTe’s Privacy Solutions for Online Advertising
TRUSTe has been first to market with the largest breadth of online privacy solutions available to meet the unique needs of both the advertising community and consumers in the rapidly changing online advertising landscape. Its new TRUSTed Data privacy program builds upon its DAA-approved TRUSTed Ads platform, as well as its TRUSTed TPL by providing a qualifier for companies to be on its ALLOW list.
TRUSTed TPL is a simple and customized Tracking Protection List (TPL) that supports the privacy controls in Internet Explorer 9. However, unlike other TPLs, TRUSTe designed its TRUSTed TPL to include both ALLOW and BLOCK designations. This gives consumers the choice to receive targeted advertising from credible companies and networks (such as Specific Media and Insight Express), who meet specific privacy criteria.
“TRUSTe’s new TRUSTed Data program further supports the goal of Tracking Protection Lists for Internet Explorer 9 by giving consumers even more choice in managing their online privacy,” said Roger Capriotti, Director of Product Marketing at Microsoft. “By continuing to build out its TPL list, TRUSTe collects responsible players in the advertising industry, giving consumers TPL that allows them to express a relationship preference with the companies TRUSTe has deemed as compliant with their standards.”
TRUSTed TPL is currently available in beta for Internet Explorer 9 users via a free download at tracking-protection.truste.com. It will be generally available on April 1, 2011.
About TRUSTe
TRUSTe powers privacy compliance and trust by enabling businesses to use data across their customer, employee and vendor channels. We have nearly 20 years’ experience and a team of over 150 professionals dedicated to providing data privacy management solutions and services, including assessments, certifications and our SaaS-based Platform. The Data Privacy Management Platform provides control over all phases of privacy; from conducting assessments and implementing compliance controls to managing ongoing monitoring. Companies worldwide rely on TRUSTe to minimize compliance risk and protect their brand. For further information see www.truste.com
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