Annex A
Self-Regulatory Initiatives in Electronic
Commerce
A BRIEF FROM CONSUMERS IN EUROPE GROUP ON
CODES OF CONDUCT, PRACTICE AND TRUST MARKS, HALLMARKS, KITEMARKS,
COMPLIANCE SYMBOLS AND LOGOS IN E-COMMERCE
This is not an exhaustive list of schemes. It gives
examples of some of the many different schemes and some of the
online compliance symbols currently in operation worldwide.
1. BROADBASED
CODES
Broadbased schemes cover all aspects of electronic
trading—pricing, payment details, security, privacy, advertising,
guarantees, refunds, complaints handling, and so on.
1.1 TrustUK
In 1998 the Consumer Affairs Directorate of
the Department of Trade and Industry asked the Alliance for Electronic
Business (the Alliance)[29]
and Consumers' Association (CA) to consider establishing a separate
body to accredit Codes of Practice and consumer safeguards relating
to the Internet and e-commerce. At the end of 1998 the DTI announced
in its Competitiveness White Paper that it wished to introduce
a "digital hallmark" with the aim of increasing consumer
confidence in Internet shopping by allowing websites which comply
with a Code of Best Practice to display an online hallmark.
In consultation with the DTI the Alliance organised
meetings with a number of bodies involved ine-commerce issues,
including Consumers' Association (CA), the National Consumer Council
(NCC), the National Federation of Consumer Groups (NFCG), the
Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the Interactive Media in Retail
Group (IMRG), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), AOL and Microsoft.
TrustUK was formally launched in February 2000
as a joint non-profit making venture between the Alliance and
CA. It is an accreditation body for online codes of practice and
digital hallmarks and lays down a number of minimum core principles
which must be included in the code of practice of the applicant
association/organisation. TrustUK is a stand-alone self-regulatory
scheme which is not supported by a legal framework. (www.trustuk.org.uk)
1.2 Which? Web Trader
Independently of TrustUK, Consumers' Association
set up their own online system in July 1999 to raise consumer
confidence in companies trading on the web. A UK trader displaying
the Which? Web Trader logo on their website agrees to follow the
Which? Code of Practice to encourage the highest possible standards
and make sure that consumers are treated fairly. Consumers' Association
gives the following guarantee to consumers: "We believe that
giving your credit card details to one of our traders over the
Internet is completely safe. But if you do lose out because someone
misuses your card, we will reimburse the first £50 of your
loss. Legally, the credit card issuer must repay the rest."
A trader displaying the logo on their website
agrees to follow a number of guidelines including pricing, payment
methods, delivery times, security, advertising, address and telephone
numbers, contracts, refunds, guarantees, complaints handling and
dispute resolution, and data protection and privacy. Which? carries
out checks to ensure that companies applying to display the logo
are genuine and then carries out spot checks to ensure that they
are adhering to the code. Displaying the logo does not mean that
Which? is recommending the goods or services sold by the trader.
Traders do not pay to join the scheme.
Consumers' Association sees its Web Trader scheme
as a developing code. A number of affiliated webtrader schemes
are being developed in other EU Member States and these will be
hyperlinked to the CA Web Trader website, although each of the
schemes is to address domestic concerns and not cross-border disputes.
At present the Dutch consumers' organisation Consumentenbond has
set up a similar scheme and it is hoped that affiliated members
will work together to exert pressure on suppliers to resolve consumer
complaints in other Member States. (www.which.net/webtrader) (www.consumentenbond.nl)
1.3 Clicksure
Clicksure provides accredited third party certification
of e-commerce operations which meet a quality overseen by an independent
Advisory Council. The clicksure quality standard covers the whole
spectrum of criteria that "a quality e-commerce operation
should be thinking about to achieve a best practice e-commerce
solution". The Clicksure program complies with ISO Guide
62—the International Organisation for Standardisation guide
for voluntary certification bodies. It has applied for accreditation
to EN45012 by the Dutch National Competent Authority (RvA). EN45012
is the European standard for certification bodies providing quality
assurance verification.
Clicksure-certified operations are entitled
to display the Clicksure Quality seal on their websites. Clicksure
expects to have over 400 participating e-commerce operations by
the end of 1999. (www.clicksure.com)
1.4 The Interactive Media in Retail Group
(IMRG)
The IMRG hallmark is exclusive to IMRG members
(electronic retailers) who formally confirm that they will comply
with the IMRG Code of Practice for Electronic Commerce and who
successfully complete the IMRG Hallmark Accreditation Process.
It is an evolving code focusing on business-to-consumer transactions
and is designed to provide a benchmark for consumer services against
which merchants can check their services and against which consumers
can comment. It does not provide an online complaints form or
a help desk or for any independent third party redress mechanism.
IMRG also operates a Shops Director and a "Mystery
Shopper" guide which rates websites according to shopping
experiences. (www.imrg.org)
1.5 International Chambers of Commerce (ICC)
ICC operates a number of self-regulatory schemes,
most of which cover business-to-business electronic trading. There
are ICC Internet advertising guidelines which have formed the
basis for many self-regulatory e-advertising schemes. The 1998
ICC Rules of Arbitration offer dispute resolution through arbitration
for electronic commerce, which although mostly designed for business
to business does not exclude consumer-to-business disputes. (www.iccwbo.org)
1.6 The BBBOnLine Reliability Programme
To use the use the BBBOnLine Reliability seal
of reliability traders must be members of their local Better Business
Bureau (BBB), have been in operation for at least a year, have
agreed to BBB advertising standards, agree to respond promptly
to all consumer complaints and commit to an independent third
party dispute resolution process if needed. Consumers can "click"
the BBBOnLine seal displayed on a website to check its authenticity.
More than 2,700 retailers in the US and Canada have so far qualified
to display the seal.
In addition, the BBB has an online complaint
form which allows consumers to access the BBB's central complaints
site, from where the complaint is automatically forwarded to the
appropriate local BBB based on the postal code of the company
concerned. (www.bbbonline.org)
1.7 CPA WebTrust
The WebTrust seal verifies that a company has
passed an audit of its Internet commerce business systems by an
independent certified public accountant (CPA) and that the company
is a legitimate business, transactions are safe and secure and
the privacy of the consumer is protected. The authenticity of
the CPA WebTrust seal is provided by VeriSign. WebTrust is expanding
its operation outside of North America and making its seal available
in Europe and Asia through licensing arrangements with international
accounting firms. WebTrust states that its scheme is scalable
upwards to meet more rigorous laws or regulations in certain countries,
although no exclusions or exceptions are ever made to the fundamental
principles of the scheme. (www.aicpa.org)
1.8 Public Eye certified safe shopping site
The Public Eye online seal of approval is a
rating service that asks customers to complete satisfaction surveys
after they have made purchases from a site. Public Eye has signed
up about 7,500 mostly small and medium-sized merchants who can
display its logo on their site. The consumer can click onto the
logo to read a report that gives "thumbs-up" ratings
on nine criteria, including speed of deliveries, ease of returns
or refunds. The service is free to retailers because Public Eye
makes its money selling market research reports based on survey
data. (www.thepubliceye.com)
1.9 Bizrate.com
Bizrate.com operates a similar ratings service
(using stars rather than thumbs!) but on a smaller scale. (www.bizrate.com)
1.10 Internet Industry Guidelines
Internet industry associations in a number of
countries including Australia, the Netherlands and Japan are drawing
up codes of industry self-regulation. (www.iia.net.au) (www.ecp.nl)
(www.ecom.or.jp)
2. NARROWBASED
AND SECTORAL
CODES
Privacy
2.1 Online Privacy Alliance
The Online Privacy Alliance is a cross-industry coalition
of more than 60 global corporations and associations which encourages
companies to adopt and post a privacy policy and become a supporter
of the Alliance. The Alliance supports independent third party
seal programs, like BBBOnLine and TRUSTe that award an identifiable
symbol to signify to consumers that the owner of the website has
a privacy policy that conforms to certain criteria specified by
the Online Privacy Alliance. (www.privacyalliance.org)
2.2 TRUSTe
TRUSTe is a non-profit-making, self-regulatory
organisation focused exclusively on individual privacy rights
online (www.truste.org)
2.3 The BBBOnLine Privacy Seal
This BBBOnLine seal focuses solely on privacy.
(www.bbbonline.org)
Security and Authenticity
2.4 Verisign
Verisign is the major providers of Public Key Infrastructure
(PKI) and digital certificate solutions used to conduct secure
communications and transactions over the Internet. Whilst Verisign
does not operate a Code of Conduct, consumers accessing a site
displaying the Verisign logo can ensure that the site they are
visiting is authentic and that any information given is secure.
(www.verisign.com)
Advertising
2.5 ASA Codes
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) that
establishes the British Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion
(BSCAP) administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA),
has put forward proposals for the establishment of an e
Advertising trustmark scheme for UK Internet advertising. Those
joining the scheme agree to comply with the British Codes of Advertising
and Sales Promotion and the rulings of the Advertising Standards
Authority. The ASA is one of 22 countries in the European Advertising
Standards Alliance which is developing a cross-border complaints
systems based on the country of origin principle as prescribed
by the EU Television Without Frontiers Directive (97/36/EC). (www.asa.org.uk)
(www.easa-alliance.org)
Content
2.6 ICRA
The International Content Rating Association (ICRA)
has developed a global voluntary self-rating system which provides
Internet users worldwide with the choice to limit access to content
they consider harmful. (www.icra.org)
29 The Alliance for Electronic Business
(Alliance) was formed in February 1998 by the following organisations:
the Direct Marketing Association (UK) Ltd (DMA), the Confederation
of British Industry (CBI), the Computer Services and Software
Association (CSSA), the Federation of Electrical Industries (FEI),
e-centre UK. Back
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