The content publisher is identified

The labelled website gives suitable information concerning the publisher, such as the name, telephone number, postal and electronic-mail addresses. Where relevant, information on the office hours or times when telephone contact can be made is given.

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Clear language that is fit for purpose is used throughout

The labelled site uses clear and intelligible language throughout its website. This includes the general terms and conditions under which the site operates and the description of the website operator's complaints and settlement procedures.

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The publisher's privacy policy is declared

A statement summarizing the labelled website's privacy policy is made easily available before or at any time when data is collected. It includes information on:

• what information is being collected;
• how it is collected;
• who is collecting it;
• what the information is to be used for;
• the use, if any, of cookies/tracking technologies and their purpose.

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A data protection contact point is declared

A contact point responsible for privacy inquiries is clearly indicated.

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The content publisher agrees to be bound by the labelling authority's enforcement mechanism

The labelled site operator agrees to be subject to the enforcement mechanism operated by the labelling organisation.

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The content and/or service meets legal practice in at least the following country or countries:

The labelling authority asserts that the labelled website, its content and services, meet the legal practices in the given list of countries. Countries are identified in a whitespace-separated list of their (two character) ISO 3166 [ISO] country codes. NB. The absence of a country from the list does NOT imply that the content or service is illegal in that country.

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The labelling authority's usability criteria have been met

It is for the labelling authority to define its criteria for usability. As examples, these might include:

• The website is structured in such a way that allows for clear access to the different sections within it as well as to external websites.
• The colours of the typeface provide for easy reading on screen and when printed. Background or image colours enhance rather than detract from legibility of the typeface.
• Hyperlinks are identified within text in a graphic format (colours, underlined, etc.).
• Animations and multimedia items may be deactivated; prior presentations in Flash or other technologies can be skipped if they are of no use to the user. Dynamic content operates at a speed that is displayed appropriately for users, particularly when it contains text.

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The size of available downloads and details of any extra programmes required to access them is given

Both the size of downloads and details of any ancillary programmes required to open files are given (e.g. Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDFs or Macromedia Flash Player for Animations in Flash).

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The content is displayed correctly using all major desktop browsers

The website is compatible with major desktop browsers, operating systems and platforms, i.e. the page displays properly or, if not, information on its limitations is provided.

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The domain name is transparent

The domain cannot easily be confused with the names of other websites, particularly those of well-known brands and celebrity names.

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Meets WAI accessibility level

Web accessibility is generally governed by the recommendations of the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative [WAI]. The allowable values for this descriptor are WAI-A, WAI-AA and WAI-AAA.

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The person or organisation taking responsibility for third party content is made clear

The website indicates acceptance of, or exemption from, responsibility for content that is not controlled by the website itself (e.g. forums, links to third parties, etc.)

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The content provider is qualified to publish the given information

It is for a labelling authority to define its criteria for establishing the necessary credentials of a publisher. As examples, these might include:

• the background of the organisation;
• information on education and/or specialisation of publishers;
• a brief résumé including most significant training and professional experiences, memberships of professional associations.

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Relevant information is provided about the content

It is for a labelling authority to define its criteria for whether suitable information about the content has been provided. As examples, these might include:

• Informative content includes the author, a bibliography and such details as dates of both initial publication and of subsequent updates.
• The date of the last update made to a website. Although this does not give a definitive indication of when each page of the website was last updated, it does provide a general one. This date should preferably appear on the home page.
• References to content from other sources, and the Internet address of the entity or of the document cited, are given whenever possible.
• All links within the website that lead to external sources indicate a destination. Providing a brief description of the source in small text alongside the link is an example of best practice.

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Advertising and funding is transparent

Advertising material, in whatever format, is distinguished from informative material. When the website is financed either completely or partially through a sponsor, information about the sponsor is clearly displayed in a prominent location on the webpage.

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Fair commercial communications and marketing practices are used

It is for the labelling authority to define its criteria for assessing site's communication practice. As examples, these might include:

• labelled websites are able to substantiate any expressed or reasonably implied factual claims made in their advertising or marketing and possess reasonable substantiation prior to disseminating a claim.
• Information about the basis for any price comparisons is readily available and regularly updated by the labelled website.
• The labelled website does not knowingly link to, or accept, affinity or royalty payments from fraudulent or illegal sites. Also they make the complete rules for any offered contests, sweepstakes or games easily available online and take into account the regulatory characteristics of the markets they target (This does not address whether the laws of any particular jurisdiction apply).
• The labelled website does not use Internet technology to mislead consumers about the nature of the product or service being promoted or offered, and they ensure that search terms fairly reflect the content of the site.

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The labelled site takes into account the age, knowledge and level of maturity of the intended audience

It is for the labelling authority to determine its own criteria for the protection of vulnerable groups, especially children. As examples, these might include:

• An independent label, such as an ICRA label, provides a clear description of the content to empower parents and other carers to make choices about whether the material is suitable for their children.
• The labelled website ensures that commercial communications, advertising or promotional activities:
  • take into account the age, knowledge and level of maturity of the intended audience and identify material intended only for adults;
  • do not encourage children to enter inappropriate websites;
• The labelled website ensures that websites addressing children:
  • do not cause moral, mental or physical detriment to children;
  • encourage children to gain parental consent prior to on-line purchasing;
  • do not encourage children to contract for credit or engage in long-term contracts;
  • do not encourage children to buy a product or a service by exploiting their inexperience, sense of loyalty, credulity or trust;
  • do not lead children to persuade their parents or others to purchase the goods or services on offer;
  • make guidelines for safe shopping for children available.

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Clear information is provided about the goods and services on offer, including price

It is for the labelling authority to determine its criteria for providing information about goods and services. As examples, these might include:

• The labelled site provides all relevant information about the goods and services on offer in qualitative and quantitative terms. Also geographical restrictions on sale are prominently indicated as well as the currency in which the goods/service is priced and other currencies available for use.
• Information is made available about the types of payment that are accepted and the implications of each in terms of any extra charges or discounts as well as the earliest billing time.
• Information about the availability of the goods or service and the time for delivery is updated regularly.
• Information is provided on the existence or non-existence of the right of withdrawal and period, if any.
• Information is provided about the return policy including any costs of return.
• Information is given to consumers that the labelled site may reject orders should there be a reasonable suspicion that such orders may be fraudulent.

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Clear information on contract terms and conditions is provided

It is for the labelling authority to determine its criteria for the provision of suitable contract terms. As examples, these might include:

• The labelled site makes the terms and conditions of the contract easily accessible.
• Terms and conditions are printable by the consumer.
• The terms and conditions are presented in a clear and unambiguous fashion and there is an express acceptance of them by consumers prior to the purchase.

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The order confirmation process is clear

It is for the labelling authority to determine its criteria for assessing the clarity of the order confirmation process. As examples, these might include requirements that before placing the order, consumers can:

• review the goods/services to be purchased and the selected payment method;
• cancel the order;
• modify the order;
• express an informed and deliberate consent to the purchase;
• retain a complete and accurate record of the transaction.

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Orders are acknowledged and include a summary

When acknowledging receipt of the order, the labelled website includes a summary of the order that normally includes:

• the date and time of order;
• a statement of what was ordered, the price, and any other charges;
• the method of payment and an indication of the earliest billing time;
• a unique purchase number;
• sufficient contact information to enable purchasers to obtain order status updates;
• where applicable, the anticipated date of dispatch.

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The progress of orders can be tracked

The labelled site provides information on the status of the dispatching process either through e-mail or access to an order-tracking tool.

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An effective security policy is in place

The labelled website has an effective security policy to keep consumers' personal and transactional information confidential and to prevent it from being interfered with. It is for the labelling authority to define its own precise criteria for this but, as examples, these might include:

• The security policy is regularly reviewed.
• Any subcontractors or third parties involved in the operation of the website or its transactions also have an effective security policy.
• Steps are taken to prevent the content of the site from being interfered with.
• The labelled website provides general information about the level of security and authentication systems being used on their site, and identifies a contact point responsible for security.

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Payments are handled securely

High-standard technological means are used to ensure the authenticity and confidentiality of financial transactions and payments made by consumers. The labelled website provides general information on the technology used to protect the transmission of financial information.

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Special care is taken when collecting data from children

In addition to legal requirements, the labelled website takes special care with data collected from children. In particular, parental permission for the collection of data is sought. Information about privacy-enhancing technologies is provided by the labelled site and their use by consumers is encouraged.

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An in-house complaints procedure is in place

The labelled website offers an in-house complaints system, which is fair, effective, transparent and confidential. It is for the labelling authority to determine the precise criteria but as examples, these might include:

• complaints are acknowledged within a short period of time and the consumer is advised on the timescale for dealing with the complaint.
• the labelled website maintains a record of the complaints received and reports to the trustmark owner on them.

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A dispute settlement procedure, separate from the in-house complaints procedure, is in place

When a consumer has followed the in-house complaints procedure but remains dissatisfied, the labelled website provides information that it has an alternative dispute resolution scheme that it adheres to.

URL of the RDF instance

The URL of the RDF instance that contains the machine-processable version of the trust mark.

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Date label issued

The date on which the trust mark was first issued to the labelled site. This may be made available in the TMS manifest and should be presented in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

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Valid Until Date

The date until which the label is considered valid by the TMS operator. This should be presented in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

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Date label last reviewed

The date on which the labelled site was last reviewed and on which it was found to still be in compliance with the TMS criteria. This data should be available in the TMS manifest and presented in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

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Date label withdrawn

The date on which the labelled site was reviewed and found to have breached the TMS criteria. This data should be available in the TMS manifest and presented in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

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Reviewed by

Likely to be used internally by the TMS to identify the individual who reviewed the site and awarded the trust mark. It is up to the TMS to decide how the individual should be identified, perhaps by an ID, a simple string, or by using the FOAF vocabulary [FOAF].

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Approved by

This is provided for internal use by a TMS that may operate a hierarchical structure of reviewers and editors. The person identified in this field should have reviewed the labelled site and endorsed the decision made by the primary reviewer.

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Site May Edit

This is used as a flag to declare whether the schema operator allows or does not allow the labelled site owner to edit the label once issued.

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Label location

This declares whether a client should expect to find the label on the labelled site (site) or in a database operated by the labelling authority (database).

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Service URL

The URL of the application interface (DAcc) that handles communication with the labelling authority's database.

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Content Analyser URL

Specifies the URL of a service that is able to analyse content and return a result in terms of either the Quatro vocabulary, the TMS operator's own vocabulary, or both.

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Label Hash Algorithm

Indicates the algorithm for the label hashing; both the LA (for the initial label hash) and QUAPRO (for the real-time label hash) should use the same hashing mechanism.

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