Gratis Loses Privacy-Assurance Seal

[Sun Baked]

Couldn't happen to a better site.

Wired.com - Privacy-Assurance Seal Yanked

WASHINGTON -- TRUSTe, the business community's guarantor of internet privacy, abruptly ended its relationship with the company operating FreeiPods.com and other websites on Wednesday, alleging unspecified violations of privacy promises to consumers.

TRUSTe said Gratis Internet of Washington could no longer display the industry's broadly recognized seal intended to assure consumers that a website complies with privacy-protection guidelines on any of its internet properties.

It was the first such revocation in at least two years under the industry's own regulatory program. "It is rare," said Carolyn Hodge, a spokeswoman for San Francisco-based TRUSTe. "It is really a last resort for us." ...

...TRUSTe said Gratis violated promises involving the protection of children's information and changed how it managed the private information of its customers without adequately notifying them. But due to a confidentiality agreement, TRUSTe said it could not disclose exactly how Gratis had violated any agreements. In a statement, TRUSTe said Gratis had agreed to some changes in its business policies as requested but "did not complete the entire process."...

...Hodge said TRUSTe determined it was not necessary to report Gratis' behavior to the Federal Trade Commission, which typically investigates internet privacy violations. She said aggrieved consumers can file complaints with the FTC or state attorneys general. ...

 

[CanadaRAM]

> "TRUSTe determined it was not necessary to report Gratis' behavior to the Federal Trade Commission [and] said aggrieved consumers can file complaints with the FTC or state attorneys general."

But the aggrieved customers will never know how their private information was misused because TRUSTe's confidentiality agreement prevents them from telling anyone what Gratis did with the customer's information... Shee-it.