The US Safe Harbor - Fact or Fiction? (2008)

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5.6. Participation in privacy programs

The self-certification form asks organisations to ‘List any privacy programs in which your organization is a member for Safe Harbor purposes’. This is followed by a box where free text can be entered.

The exact purpose of this part of the self-certification is not clear. There is no requirement to join a privacy program. However, if text is entered here then it is important that the information is accurate. Care needs to be taken not to raise expectations that the ‘privacy programs’ play any formal role in the Safe Harbor arrangements (there is another box later in the form covering dispute resolution providers – who do play a formal role in the Safe Harbor).

Common entries in this section are TRUSTe (176), BBB (93) and DMA (67).

A range of additional organisations are listed as ‘privacy programs in which your organization is a member for Safe Harbor purposes’. However, none of these appear to be programs that cover privacy issues relevant to the Safe Harbor. Some entries are irrelevant or difficult to explain. Many entries appear to confuse privacy compliance with security compliance – and these entries generally indicate a lack of understanding about the Safe Harbor program. Entries include:

 

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