BBB says it's still forming its appeals board. The mediators also intervene if a business disputes changes Truste or the BBB demand to ensure privacy. As a last measure, the watchdog groups can report a business that violates its privacy policy to the FTC for deceptive business practices. Truste says it has never referred any of its seal-holders to the commission. Truste says it won't make complaint records public.
Studies suggest that privacy seals do reassure skittish consumers.
But not everyone is convinced of the value of seal programs. And to the extent that they manage to stave off legally enforceable privacy rights, they are doing the American public a disservice. Catlett adds that privacy seals would be more effective if strong Federal statutes existed for online privacy. In March, Catlett filed a complaint with the FTC against Truste, saying it did not properly investigate privacy infringements by Microsoft Corp., a Truste member and financial contributor. Catlett's complaint said Microsoft's online registration process for Windows 98 generates a secret hardware identification number that Microsoft can use, among other things, to gather marketing information.