Arlington, VA., June 8,1999 -- BBBOnLine announced today that it will develop a "Code of Online Business Practices." The Code will provide online merchants with guidelines that will help address important consumer protection issues raised by the digital marketplace.

"Self-regulation is the culture of the Internet, and an integral component of BBBOnLine's mission. As businesses continue to launch websites at an unprecedented rate, the BBBOnLine voluntary code will encourage them to utilize practices that support an honest and fair online marketplace," said Bojana Fazarinc, global marketing services and communications director with Hewlett-Packard and chair of BBBOnLine, a subsidiary of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB).

The Better Business Bureau system has, over the years, fashioned and promoted helpful voluntary codes that serve a variety of industries and organizations today. The BBB Code of Advertising, for example, sets out basic advertising/selling standards that have successfully guided businesses, advertising agencies, industry associations, regulators, educators and others interested in fostering ethical advertising practices for more than 25 years. The CBBB's Philanthropic Advisory Service (PAS) encourages accountability within the charitable community through its nationally recognized CBBB Standards for Charitable Solicitations.

"A voluntary code for online businesses is a natural outgrowth of the Better Business Bureau system's distinguished history of promoting and fostering ethical business practices through voluntary self-regulation and business education," said James L. Bast, president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB), the umbrella organization for the nation's Better Business Bureaus. "That history, coupled with the expertise that BBBOnLine has acquired evaluating thousands of websites through its online seal programs, provides a firm foundation to launch this newest initiative."

The "Code of Online Business Practices" will be the newest self-regulation tool offered by BBBOnLine. Over the past two years, BBBOnLine's Reliability program has awarded more than 3,000 online seals to qualifying businesses that meet high standards for customer satisfaction and truthful and accurate advertising. The BBBOnLine Privacy program, launched earlier this year, has 300 applications in process and has awarded 30 online seals to companies that have met BBBOnLine's standards for online privacy policies and practices.

To gain voluntary support for and acceptance of the Code, BBBOnLine and the Better Business Bureau system are seeking wide input and contributions from every sector of the Internet community, including consumers, businesses and industry associations.

"Our plan is to operate in an open and inclusive fashion when drafting the Code. We are developing a process that will encourage input every step of the way," said Russell Bodoff, senior vice president and chief operating officer of BBBOnLine.

Bodoff stated that BBBOnLine would also solicit input from regulators at the state and national level. "The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission, for instance, have been very supportive of BBB self-regulation activities in the traditional marketplace, as well as on the Internet."

It is expected that members of Better Business Bureaus who advertise online will want to adopt the standards specified in the BBBOnLine "Code of Online Business Practices," once the new Code is approved by BBBOnLine and the BBB system. There are more than 270,000 members of local BBBs nationwide, each of who agree to abide by the BBB Code of Advertising when accepted into membership. Tens of thousands of these members have already launched or are in the process of establishing websites to promote their products and services.

Future developments related to development of the BBBOnLine "Code of Online Business Practices" will be reported on the BBBOnLine website (http://www.bbbonline.org) and the BBB central website (http://www.bbb.org). Businesses, associations and other groups and organizations wanting to provide early input into the development process should e-mail BBBOnLineCode@cbbb.bbb.org with contact information.