Consumer Reports Debuts Impartial Privacy Standard

[Exterminator]

Consumer Reports, which has launched a new initiative to develop a digital standard to measure the privacy and security of products, apps and services.

Ever wish there were an impartial, third-party review option that could help you evaluate the true level of privacy safeguards for online services? Typically, one only has internet giants’ self-serving assurances and regulatory controls to help foster confidence. Into that breach now comes the venerable citizen advocate organization. The goal is to help companies prioritize consumers’ data security and privacy needs.

The standard was developed in partnership with leading privacy, security, and consumer rights organizations. The coalition behind the new digital standard also is inviting broader input and collaboration from a range of stakeholders to help develop and improve the new protocol. New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI), which has lately focused on promoting corporate policies that foster a more open and secure internet through projects like its Transparency Reporting Toolkit and the new “Do the Right Thing” collection of case studies, plans to participate in the continued development and application of the new standards.

“Our research shows that users lack adequate information about how companies’ policies and practices affect their privacy, security, and other rights like freedom of expression,” said Rebecca MacKinnon, director of Ranking Digital Rights, a non-profit research initiative housed at OTI and a partner in the collaborative effort. “We believe that this effort can help people make more informed decisions about how they use technology. We also believe that the digital standard will help companies do a better job of protecting and respecting users’ rights.”

Kevin Bankston, director of OTI, added, “In our research on how best to drive internet companies to adopt strong privacy and security policies, the use of rankings and standards to judge whether companies are doing the right thing—and to prompt them to compete to see who can do the best by their customers—has repeatedly been an effective lever for change.”

 

[Digerati]

This is good news. Consumer Reports will start grading how well connected devices protect consumers' security and privacy. There has never been incentive before - but there will now. This sure is needed in light of the fact baby monitors, web cams, kid toys, home thermostats, refrigerators - not to mention computing devices - are being hacked by bad guys because there's no security built in.

Note too we can all participate and provide input to the methodology that will be used to evaluate these IoT (Internet of Things) connected products. This should lead to a rating system that the lawyers and marketing people for the makers of down-rated products will not be able to contest. A good thing. See The Digital Standard.

It should be noted, for those not aware, that Consumer Reports is not just a non-profit organization. They accept no ads in any of their publications so there is no way a company can influence their reviews. They send out "secret shoppers" around the country to buy test samples from Wal-mart, Best Buy, Amazon, etc. This prevents the possibility a company might send a cherry-picked, specially optimized sample for comparison testing. They do long term testing, often simulating years of use for things like mattresses and lawn mowers. And they survey their millions of readers annually to rate products. This massive sampling ensures products are not down-rated because UPS delivered the package next door, the box looked like it fell off the FedEx truck, Amazon sent the wrong color, or the Post Office delivered it a day late.