About the book

This groundbreaking book is the first comprehensive study of trustmarks: electronic labels or visual representations that indicate an online merchant has met industry standards with regard to security, privacy, and business practices.

While focusing on trustmarks, the work also touches upon several crucial and timely issues of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development: privacy, security, and e-consumers’ trust. From a business perspective, trustmarks are a way of conveying e-consumers’ trust in an online business.

E-merchants thus hope that by displaying trustmarks on their website, e-consumers will be less likely to question their integrity and therefore more likely to disclose personal data and complete transactions. From a regulatory perspective, trustmarks are a way for e-merchants to self-regulate or co-regulate the market on issues of privacy and security.

I focus on legal aspects associated with trustmarks, paying special attention to the possible liability of Trustmark Organisations “TMOs” (i.e., the entities that issue trustmarks). I also engage in a multidisciplinary analysis, describing the pros and cons of trustmarks for e-economy, e-society, and e-policy.

The book begins by describing trustmarks, from how they are issued by TMOs to the extent to which they enhance e-consumers’ trust. The observations and conclusions are based on an analysis of practices of four US-based and five EU-based TMOs. The analysis was further enhanced by a thorough investigation of the relevant international literature on trustmarks.

Carrying out a critical comparative research into the American, English, German, and French legal systems, I then elaborate on the legal value of trustmarks and TMOs’ liabilities towards e-consumers who suffered loss after relying on inaccurate trustmarks.

The book concludes by recommending an innovative legal framework for trustmarks intended to enhance e-consumers’ trust in e-commerce. Of particular interest is the manner in which the ethical theory of “Warranted Trust” is applied to the relationship between e-consumers and e-merchants in order to fine-tune the legal proposals.

The volume is the result of four years of multidisciplinary, comparative research based at Tilburg University (the Netherlands). During this time I framed the manuscript by constantly presenting my findings, views, and theories to my colleagues in the Department of Private Law, the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT), and my fellows at the University of Bologna (Italy). I also presented papers on the topic at major international ICT and law conferences.

This book is a must-read for those working in ICT regulatory bodies, TMOs, e-merchants, e-consumers, e-consumers’ associations, ICT lawyers, academics and, more generally, for anyone who wants to have a complete and accurate insight in the role trustmarks may play in enhancing e-commerce.

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