PrivaTrust is the highest standard for internet privacy assurance. The PrivaTrust certification plate offers a robust set of technical features and audit standards that protect web consumers and enhance the business credibility of e-commerce web sites. Read The PrivaTimes Newsletter — Inaugural Edition in PDF (Portable Document Format), 526 Kb / 6 pages.

Trusting a web site "is like following a helpful stranger in Morocco who offers to take you to the best rug store in town".
— The New York Times

The latest research is definitive: Consumers have real concerns about their privacy and the internet. PrivaTrust is your answer to this essential internet question of trust: "Is my personal information safe on web sites where I am doing business?"

SOME INTERNET PRIVACY FACTS:

• Research suggests that a combination of privacy policies and "seals of approval" can significantly raise people's confidence. Respondents who are unsure or unwilling to provide information are more likely to do so if the web site has a privacy policy and a "seal of approval".

  —Source: Report from AT&T Labs: Beyond Concern / Understanding Net Users' Attitudes About Online Privacy, April 1999 [open this link in a 2nd browser window]

• Internet security and privacy are issues of personal control of personal information. Satisfying most people regarding these issues is the first and most necessary step in beginning the trusting process. Seals of approval seek to reassure the visitor that control has been established.

  —Source: E-commerce trust study by Cheskin Research and Studio Archetype, January, 1999. [open this link in a 2nd browser window]

Who created PrivaTrust, and who administers it?

More than a simple "seal of approval", PrivaTrust is an exclusive internet privacy assurance service from PrivaTrust Corporation, in affiliation with Bennett Gold, Chartered Accountants, based in Toronto, Canada.

PrivaTrust certification focuses on the important information and privacy protection areas of the WebTrust process — and gives visitors to a web site the assurance that their personal information is safe and secure.

Bennett Gold, Chartered Accountants was the first firm in Canada licensed to provide WebTrust services to the internet business community. The firm issued the first WebTrust Seal in Canada to the e-commerce provider of the Roger Clemens online sports merchandise store.

PrivaTrust Corporation is an independent organization which is not affiliated with or endorsed by WebTrust, which, however, adopts the WebTrust principles, criteria and guidelines in connection with PrivaTrust Assurance Services. PrivaTrust Assurance Services are only provided by practitioners who are WebTrust licensees.

Further information about WebTrust can be found at: WebTrust.net, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The PrivaTimes Newsletter - Inaugural Edition (526 Kb / 6 pages): The only "How To" publication that uses current research to teach you how to create a trustworthy and privacy-conscious web site. All the secrets are revealed in this FREE PDF file: download it now (to read this file get the free PDF reader)