Compliance by BBBOnLine Privacy Seal Holders to be Verified by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 1999--

Agreement with UL Expected to Add

Unprecedented Level of Trust and

Confidence To BBBOnLine Privacy Program

BBBOnLine, the Council of Better Business Bureaus subsidiary, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) to establish and implement a program of verification for BBBOnLine's Privacy Seal Program.

Using a representative sample of seal holders, UL is expected to begin monitoring compliance with the program requirements this fall.

BBBOnLine is the first, and only, online privacy seal program to have a renowned independent international certification organization monitor compliance. "This agreement should give consumers an unprecedented level of trust in the online privacy policies of companies participating in the BBBOnLine Privacy Program," said Russell Bodoff, chief operating officer of BBBOnLine.

Founded in 1894, UL has been the recognized leader in U.S. product safety and certification for years, and is quickly becoming one of the most recognized conformity assessment providers in the world.

"I'm very excited about UL's agreement with BBBOnLine," says Bob Miller, UL vice president of global programs and services (international). "It allows UL to expand its conformity assessment services to include monitoring services related to privacy information on the Internet. UL's role is to visit randomly selected companies to verify whether their policies, practices and procedures for protecting web site privacy information and information submitted in the BBBOnLine Privacy Program assessment are in compliance with the BBBOnLine program requirements. We are able to perform this on-site function due to our extensively trained field staff located throughout the US and abroad."

"The partnership of two of the best known and trusted organizations in consumer protection, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, makes this an ideal team," said James L. Bast, president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Founded in 1912, the Better Business Bureau system has almost 100% name recognition with businesses and consumers alike and is a trusted source of marketplace information.

The BBBOnLine Privacy Program awards an easily recognizable and affordable online "seal" to businesses that post and adhere to online privacy policies that meet the required "core" principles, such as disclosure, choice, and security. It provides a consumer-friendly dispute settlement process and offers specific consequences for non-compliance, such as seal withdrawal, publicity and referral to government enforcement agencies.

Since its launch in March 1999, the program has received more than 400 applications from companies that are in the process of applying for the BBBOnLine Privacy Seal. Companies that are already BBBOnLine Privacy Seal holders include Dell, The New York Times, Nick.com, Kodak and Nestle U.S.A.

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) is a private, not-for-profit organization that has evaluated products, materials and systems in the interest of public safety for over a 100 years. More than 14 billion UL Marks appear on products each year, and more than 17,000 types of products are tested at UL's five U.S. laboratories located in Northbrook, Ill.; Melville, N.Y.; Santa Clara, Calif.; Research Triangle Park, N.C. and Camas, WA.

BBBOnLine, Inc. is a subsidiary of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. Original founding sponsors include America Online, Ameritech, AT&T Corp., Bank of America, Dun & Bradstreet, Eastman Kodak Company, GTE, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, The Procter & Gamble Company, Reed Elsevier Inc., Road Runner, Sony Electronics, U S WEST Media Group, Visa U.S.A., and Xerox Corporation.