AT&T Joins Other Online Leaders Receiving Privacy Seal

ARLINGTON, VA. (September 22, 1999) - BBBOnLine, a Council of Better Business Bureaus subsidiary, today announced that its six-month-old Privacy Seal Program has awarded its 100th seal and has more than 400 applications in the pipeline.

AT&T became the 100th company to complete the rigorous process for receiving a BBBOnLine Privacy Seal. Companies that earn the seal undergo a review of their privacy policy and a comprehensive evaluation of the processes in place to adhere to the policy. The companies must meet stringent rules on how they protect the privacy of online consumers. The companies also must agree to participate in a dispute resolution program set up by BBBOnLine to address consumer privacy complaints.

"People who visit Web sites that carry the BBBOnLine Privacy Seal should feel confident that the company has demonstrated its ability to adhere to all the statements made in its privacy notice," said Russell Bodoff, senior vice president and chief operating officer of BBBOnLine. "Businesses that carry the seal are leaders in the creation of a privacy system that safeguards online customers and helps build confidence in online commerce."

The BBBOnLine Privacy Program, launched March 17, seeks to assure consumers about how a Web site handles personally identifiable information. The BBBOnLine Privacy Program awards an easily recognizable and affordable online trustmark to businesses that post and adhere to online privacy policies, and meet required "core" principles, such as disclosure, choice, access and security. It provides a consumer-friendly dispute settlement process and offers specific consequences for non-compliance, such as seal withdrawal, publicity and referral to government enforcement agencies.

"AT&T is proud to be the first global voice and data communications company to be awarded the BBBOnLine Privacy Seal," said Gene Lockhart, president of AT&T Consumer Services. "Customers who visit AT&T's Web sites can see BBBOnLine's Privacy Seal and feel assured that two of the nation's most recognizable organizations - AT&T and BBB Đ are working together to diminish consumer concerns about online privacy."

BBBOnLine is the first, and only, online privacy seal program to have a well-known, independent international certification organization, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), help verify Web site compliance.

BBBOnLine created the Privacy Seal with the support of about two dozen global companies, pioneers and leaders in e-commerce, including America Online, AMR Corporation (American Airlines and Travelocity), AT&T, Bank of America, Dell, Dun & Bradstreet, Eastman Kodak, Equifax, Experian, Ford, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, JC Penney, MCI WorldCom, Microsoft, New York Times Electronic Media, Proctor & Gamble, Reed Elsevier (LEXIS-NEXIS), Sony Electronics, US WEST, Viacom and Xerox.

The BBBOnLine Reliability Seal Program has more than 3,300 participants and appears on about 4,500 Web sites. It is a complementary but separate program from the Privacy Seal Program, and allows visitors to quickly identify companies that have committed to truthful and accurate advertising. Companies in the program also agree to third-party resolution of any disputes that may arise.

Companies qualifying for the Reliability Seal must provide BBBOnLine with information regarding company ownership and management, must have been in business for at least a year, must qualify for membership in the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and must allow an on-site visit by a representative of the BBB.

Bojana Fazarinc, director of communications and global marketing services for Hewlett Packard and chair of the BBBOnLine Board of Directors, said the Privacy Seal Program is building momentum.

"The BBBOnLine Privacy Seal benefits from the 98 percent consumer name recognition that the BBB has enjoyed on Main Street for years," she said. "In receiving this seal, AT&T joins a distinguished group of Internet leaders that are setting high standards in online privacy."

The 100 recipients of the BBBOnline Privacy Seal include: 1rstbase.com, A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors, AAA American Passport Expediters, ABC Vacuum Warehouse, ACA Distribution, Activus Corporation, AllHerb.com, Amazon Puzzles and Gifts, Ansir Publishing, Aryval.com, Aspire Furniture Co., Atcom Services, Inc., AT&T, Bannermall.com, Barzel.com, BobŐs Southside Service, BusinessHere.com, C Prompt, Carriage House Gifts, CALFINE, Clean Pool, ClubPlanet Enterprises, Creative Design Group, Cribs 2 Go, Current Checks, Cyberbills, Dell Computer Corporation, Desert Cactus Software, Digital Concepts, DivorceDirect.com, E-LOAN, Eastman Kodak Company, Educational Communications, Inc., Electronic Retailing Association, Environmental Data Pages, Equifax, EZ Merchant Accounts, GarnNet, GameGiant, Games2Learn, Gotham Limousine, gotSoftware.com, Health Watchers System, Healthy Foundations, HearthSong, Home Buyer Power, iCanBuy.com, Invention Technologies, Inc., Investment Club Doctor, Investment Management Corporation, JnF Specialties, LLC, LR Communication Systems, Inc., MarketPlace4U.com, Mary M. Calvert/Remax Properties, Inc., Meadows Credit Union, Medical Management Institute, Miniature Art Collection Series, nCognito Interactive Services Inc., Nestle USA, NetSkate, NexGen Technologies, Inc., New Media Design, nick.com, OfficeSupplies.com, Offshore Financial Freedom, Passport Express, Personal Concepts, LLC., Pool Merchants, PrivacyScan, Progressive Systems, ProtectRite.com, Q-Light, Inc., Qpass, Ripple Creek, SafeSuperStore.com, Simply Sapphires, Ski Marketing Corporation, Spiderphone.com, Spring Hill Nurseries, Square Roots, Inc., STICORP, SurvivAll Products, SutterTel.com, Term-Life-Quotes.com, The Management Advantage, Inc., The New York Times on the Web, The Popcorn Factory, the Web Center, TravelBids.com, Tri Ski Condominiums, Trim & Tassel Boutique, VerticalOne, Walter Drake, Watchzone, WinCorp Software, Worldtravelcenter.com, yesmail.com, ZipLip.com, 1-800-99-Maris Freighter-Cruises.com.

More information about BBBOnLine's Privacy Seal Program can be found at http://www.bbbonline.org/businesses/privacy