This book is the first comprehensive study on the legal aspects of trustmarks: labels or visual representations indicating that a product, process, or service conforms to specific quality characteristics.

Trustmark Organisations (TMOs) are independent parties which provide e-merchants with such trustmarks. Security, privacy, and business practice are three areas in which trustmarks play an important role. TMOs will issue a trustmark to e-merchants only if they have demonstrated that they conform to the policy of TMOs regarding security and/or privacy and/or business practice. E-merchants hope that, by displaying the trustmark on their websites, e-consumers will trust their certified practice and be more likely to divulge their personal data and transact with them. Past research has focused on the economic aspects of trustmarks. However, there are no legal studies to be found on the matter. This book aims to fill that gap. It describes the pros and cons of trustmarks fore-economy, e-society and e-policy, assesses TMOs' practice, and focuses on TMOs' liability. The book is valuable reading for academics and practitioners in the IT and ICT field and for all those involved in e-commerce both at a European and global level. Dr Paolo Balboni is currently an Associate at Baker & McKenzie, IT/Communications and Intellectual Property Department, in the Milan office in Italy. He is also a Research Associate at Tilburg University, both at the Tilburg Institute for Law Technology, and Society TILT and at the Tilburg Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and Conflict Resolution Systems TISCO.

This is Volume 17 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

Autorentext

Paolo Balboni is an Associate at Baker & McKenzie in Milan (Italy) and a Research Associate of both the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) and the Tilburg Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and Conflict Resolution Systems (TISCO) at Tilburg University.

Klappentext

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Background A few years after the commercialisation of the Internet, it became clear to businesses that the challenge for the coming years would be to win the trust of the consumers. First, consumers need to trust the Internet in general as a new means of communication. Second, consumers need to trust e-c- merce as a new way of transferring ownership or rights to use goods or services by making transactions through a computer-mediated network. Third, consumers need to trust the business practices of a specific company which sells goods or provides services online in order to choose and thus do business with that specific company instead of preferring to deal with an- 1 other one out of an almost unlimited number of options available online. Speaking about trust is comparable to speaking about love: one can talk for hours without reaching any definite conclusion. Trust is a feeling, so it 2 is really difficult to measure and to identify all the factors that affect it. However, as with love, there are some basic rules which, if followed, can at least increase the chances to enhance trust. These rules vary and transform together with the development of society. Nowadays, security and privacy seem to be at the top of the list of consumers' concerns in online transac- All the websites quoted in this book were last visited on 11 September 2008.

Inhalt
Trust and Trustmarks.- TMO Practice.- United States.- England.- Germany.- France.- Comparative Conclusions.- Recommendations: Towards an Adequate TMO Third-Party Liability System.