EU Safe Harbor Program

Welcome to the TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor Privacy Seal program. We have created this program for companies that do business with Europe and wish to comply with the Safe Harbor Privacy Framework set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In October 1998 a sweeping privacy law went into effect in Europe. The law, which covers all industry sectors and virtually every type of personal information, places significant restrictions on U.S. companies receiving personal data from European citizens. In order to avoid potentially harmful trade disruptions, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission created the “safe harbor” privacy framework. The safe harbor framework was approved in July 2000 and becomes operational on November 1, 2000.

The TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor privacy program is comprised of two distinct services, which include:

• Web Site Privacy Certification and Oversight: Similar to the current TRUSTe Privacy Seal program, TRUSTe will provide a certification program for data gathering and dissemination practices conducted via a Web site. The Web site privacy program will include enforcement of privacy policies – through quarterly monitoring and seeding -- as well as the TRUSTe WatchDog Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism.
  
  
• Online and Offline Dispute Resolution: As a requirement for companies to meet the safe harbor privacy framework set forth by the Department of Commerce, TRUSTe will provide an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for Web based and offline privacy-related disputes. Under the requirements of the TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor program, all companies must seek certification for the Web site privacy practices as a prerequisite to consideration for the offline dispute resolution program.

Click here to join the TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor Privacy Seal program.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions on TRUSTe’s EU Safe Harbor program.

Click here for the News Release announcing the TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor program

Visit the Department of Commerce EU Safe Harbor Site for more information about the safe harbor accord.

Visit the European Union Web site for more information about the European Union Data Protection Directive.