E.U. Privacy Seal goes to search engine ixquick
EU Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx presented the first European Privacy Seal to alternative search engine Ixquick today. Ixquick is now the first search engine to be formally approved by the EU in this regard.
The European Privacy Seal guarantees that IT products and services comply with the demanding EU laws and regulations on privacy and data security. The award is issued by EuroPriSe, a consortium of nine privacy organisations backed by the European Commission.
Privacy on the Internet is increasingly under attack, as searches and visits are routinely recorded and combined into personal and behavioral profiles by search engines and other websites. Potential implications of these privacy violations are misused personal data, identity theft, harassment or even criminal usage.
This led search engine Ixquick in 2006 to become the first to delete privacy details like IP-addresses within 48 hours and abolish the use of ID cookies. Ixquick does not share any personal data of its users with third parties. “This award sends out a very strong message to our users” said Ixquick’s CEO Robert Beens. “It is the ultimate proof that we live up to our promises. If people search with Ixquick - they get the best results - and full privacy.”
“The European Privacy Seal fosters compliance with the European Data Protection regulatory framework and makes privacy-friendly IT products and IT-based services visible for business customers and consumers. The awarding of the first European Privacy Seal to the meta-search engine Ixquick marks an important milestone to implement privacy on the World Wide Web and highlights this privacy-friendly service.” underlined Peter Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor.
“Introducing transparent procedures, supervised by independent authorities, this certificate is the official ‘reliable privacy trust mark’ for consumers and businesses” said Dr.Thilo Weichert, German Privacy commissioner and Europrise supervisor. “A two-step procedure is used: an evaluation of the product or service by accredited legal and IT experts and a crosscheck of the evaluation report by EuroPriSe that acts as the certification body.” Having been developed in close cooperation with the privacy and data protection authorities in Europe, the European Privacy Seal is expected to become an instrument both in EU legislation and within national privacy and data protection acts.
