The Legal Significance of Trustmarks

Abstract

To help them attain the ultimate goal of selling their goods and services, Netstores adorn their websites with graphics, information and unimaginable details of all sorts as well as peppering them with both conspicuous and hidden 'metatags' to attract more visits ('hits') than others, pay higher fees for search engine providers ('portals') to place themselves at the head of the list of favoured sites. The use of special tags, 'trustmarks' or logos that indicate some level of believability and reputation, is on the rise to add to the success in that scramble. While it has taken many international companies a succession of decades to establish trust and confidence in the line of business or type of wares and services they have offered to their customers, the current wave of start ups feel hard pressed to succeed fast in the 'Wild Web' or else perish with the same speed that they sprout. There is a growing general expectation that a declaration of good business practices and specific standards ('codes') of conduct, including the execution of measures against the recalcitrant, to guide the concerned industry (on the Internet) could instil such trust in Netconsumers. Study after study has showed that consumers worry about the privacy and security of e-commerce and desist from transacting for fear that their details (including credit card numbers) might be intercepted by hackers, that they would be duped into transacting with parties which do not exist, or supply what they promise but do so defectively leaving the buyers without any adequate or clear avenue for legal redress. This article seeks to examine the legal status of trustmarks, or seals of approval, and the rights and liabilities they engender. Section 1 sets the stage by detailing briefly the kind of practises that compromise the security of computer networks and the Internet. Section 2 explores the rationale for the creation of trustmarks. Section 3 surveys and compares the main types and state of development of trustmarks across the world. Section 4 appraises the issues of potential liability that might follow from their use or abuse. Section 5 considers the proprietary aspect of trustmarks and the protection that may be available to them. The conclusion highlights the need to find solutions to the increasing confusion and overlaps that have emerged with the proliferation of trustmarks both within single states and across them.