Timetable Set for Completing Code

ARLINGTON, VA. (September 28, 1999) - BBBOnLine today announced the appointment of a project director to spearhead the creation of the Internet's first Code of Online Business Practices. BBBOnLine also set a timetable to complete the code by early next year.

Elizabeth Blumenfeld, formerly America Online's deputy director of legal and brand policy, will oversee the development of the standards and coordinate efforts to solicit widespread input from the business community, regulators and consumers.

"Consumers must be comfortable using the Internet for transactions or e-commerce will never reach its full potential," said Liz Blumenfeld, project director of BBBOnLine's Code of Online Business Practices. "With the depth of experience the BBB system has in developing voluntary codes for ethical business practices and its breadth of membership, BBBOnLine is perfectly suited to develop a code for online business practices that will protect consumers and nurture e-commerce well into the next century."

The Better Business Bureau system has, over the years, fashioned and promoted helpful voluntary codes that serve a variety of industries and organizations. The BBB Code of Advertising, for example, sets out basic advertising/selling standards that have for decades successfully guided businesses, advertising agencies, industry associations, regulators, educators and others interested in fostering ethical advertising practices. The BBBOnLine Code will go beyond online advertising issues and cover areas such as disclosure of terms of sale, notice of costs, system security and other consumer protection issues.

Russell Bodoff, senior vice president and chief operating officer of BBBOnLine, said his organization is "delighted to have someone with Liz's expertise in online privacy, advertising standards and Internet law on our team. This code will be of enormous use to businesses and unprecedented in the new medium of the Internet."

BBBOnLine plans to solicit online public comment on the proposed code later this fall. Regional meetings will be held to solicit face-to-face input. The final code is scheduled for completion by early next year. "We hope the entire business community will participate in the creation of this code," Bodoff said, adding that feedback also will be sought from government officials and consumer advocates.

BBBOnLine also has engaged the law firm of Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC, a prominent advertising and Internet law firm, to assist with the project.

The BBB Code of OnLine Business Practices will be the newest self-regulation tool developed by BBBOnLine to provide Internet businesses with a well-respected means to foster consumer trust and confidence on the Web. BBBOnLine already has developed two seal programs, a Privacy Seal Program and a Reliability Seal Program, which is the most widely adopted "trustmark" on the Web.

Over the past two years, BBBOnLine's Reliability Seal Program has awarded more than 3,300 online seals to qualifying businesses that meet high standards for customer satisfaction, dispute resolution, and truthful and accurate advertising. The BBBOnLine Privacy Program, launched earlier this year, has over 400 applications in process and has awarded more than 100 seals to companies that have met BBBOnLine's strict standards for online privacy policies and practices.

For further information on the development of the BBB Code of Online Business Practices, visit http://www.bbbonline.org. Businesses and others wishing to provide input into the development of the code, can e-mail BBBCode@cbbb.bbb.org.