REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 31, 2002 — Microsoft announced its participation in the beta of the “Trusted Sender” Program, which was launched today at the 2nd Annual Privacy and Security Summit in Washington D.C., by TRUSTe, the nonprofit organization widely known for its leading privacy certification and seal program, and ePrivacy Group, a respected privacy consulting, training and technology company. The “Trusted Sender” Program is the first email certification and seal program to bring consumer trust to commercial email. Through this beta program, Microsoft will test this Trusted Sender technology with direct marketing email that goes out from several Microsoft groups, including MSN, Windows, Office, Encarta, Works and PictureIt.
“At Microsoft, consumer trust in technology depends on empowering people with the control over their personal information and knowledge they need to confidently interact with others online,” said Richard Purcell, Corporate Privacy Officer at Microsoft Corp. “The Trusted Sender program is a great example of innovative ways the privacy community can come together to develop powerful and intuitive solutions for consumers. We are very pleased to participate in the Trusted Sender program.”
TRUSTe and ePrivacy Group worked closely with consumer and privacy advocates, business leaders, direct marketing trade associations and policy makers to reach a consensus on best practices and principles to empower consumers to quickly identify responsible email senders.
The first program of its kind, Trusted Sender offers consumers the ability to instantly identify legitimate commercial messages from companies and/or individuals who respect consumer privacy.
For media inquiries only:
For more information regarding the Trusted Sender Seal Program, please visit/contact:
Dave Steer, TRUSTe
(415) 845-5110
[email protected]
http://truste.org/
Stephen Cobb, ePrivacy Group
(904) 823-1833
[email protected]
http://www.eprivacygroup.com/
Samantha McManus, Waggener Edstrom
425-638-7000
[email protected]