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Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find VeriSign's privacy policies?

What Privacy Policy applies to me?

Are all of VeriSign's privacy policies certified by TRUSTe?

What does it mean to be "certified by TRUSTe"?

How do I "opt-out"?

When a person "opts-out", does it mean that they will never be contacted by VeriSign?

What is VeriSign's policy on "spam" (unsolicited commercial email)?

Does VeriSign use cookies?

Is VeriSign P3P compliant?

What is the EU Safe Harbor?

Has VeriSign joined the EU Safe Harbor?

Where can I learn more about VeriSign's participation in the EU Safe Harbor?

Where can I find VeriSign's privacy policies?

Most of the VeriSign family of Web sites provide links to the applicable privacy policy on the primary page (the home page for that Web site).

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What Privacy Policy applies to me?

VeriSign has several privacy policies, and the question of which privacy policy applies depends on which Web site or Web sites you utilized. For example, if you purchased a VeriSign Security Service, VeriSign Payment Service, or VeriSign Naming and Directory Service, the applicable Privacy Statement would be http://www.verisign.com/Privacy/index.html.

Each of VeriSign's non-US sites has its own privacy policy which may also be accessed from the home page of that site. For example, if you purchased a digital certificate from VeriSign UK Limited through the verisign.co.uk site, the applicable Privacy Statement would be posted on the verisign.co.uk site.

If you purchased a digital certificate from Thawte, a VeriSign subsidiary, the applicable Privacy Statement would be http://www.thawte.com/legal/privacy.html.

VeriSign Australia and VeriSign Japan each have their own privacy policies that may be accessed from their home pages.

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Are all of VeriSign's privacy policies certified by TRUSTe?

No, only the privacy policies that apply to the verisign.com Web site (http://www.verisign.com/Privacy/index.html), and the thawte.com Web site (http://www.thawte.com/legal/privacy.html) are certified by TRUSTe.

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What does it mean to be "certified by TRUSTe"?

It means that for those Web site, VeriSign has the right to display the TRUSTe "trustmark". TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit privacy initiative dedicated to building users' trust on the Internet. TRUSTe has developed a third-party oversight "trustmark" program that alleviates users' concerns about online privacy. The TRUSTe trustmark is awarded only to Web sites that adhere to established privacy principles and comply with TRUSTe's verification and consumer resolution process. In teaming up with TRUSTe, a trustmark licensee agrees to not only post a privacy statement that a consumer can easily access and understand, but also adopt and implement privacy principles that reflect fair information practices. When you see a TRUSTe trustmark, you can be assured that the Web site will tell you what personal information is being gathered about you, how it will be used, with whom it will be shared, the choices available to you regarding how collected information is used, the safeguards in place to protect the information, and how you can correct any inaccuracies in your information.

In addition to the TRUSTe trustmark, VeriSign has the right to display the TRUSTe "EU Safe Harbor Seal" for the verisign.com website. See the FAQs below related to the EU Safe Harbor for more detail.

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How do I "opt-out"?

If you have received a mailing, you should follow the instructions set forth in that mailing. Alternatively, you may go to http://www.verisign.com/compref and follow the instructions stated on that page. You may also follow the instructions contained in the privacy policy accessible from the home page the relevant VeriSign site. If you have any questions or concerns, you may send an email to abuse@verisign.com. Once you opt out from a VeriSign site or from thawte.com (thawte is a VeriSign subsidiary), your opt out will be honored by all of the VeriSign entities and by thawte. Please note that a customer cannot opt out of future communications from VeriSign that are necessary to provide that customer the services for which he or she contracted.

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When a person "opts-out", does it mean that they will never be contacted by VeriSign?

VeriSign permits customers and site visitors to opt out from receiving further marketing notifications, with the following security and legally-required exceptions. With respect to the verisign.com Privacy Statement and the Privacy Statements in effect for VeriSign's subsidiary companies, it is not possible for a customer to opt out from receiving information regarding the security, initial use, expiration, product enhancement, or migration of our digital certificates or other products or services.

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What is VeriSign's policy on "spam" (unsolicited commercial email)?

VeriSign's policy with respect to unsolicited commercial email notifications is set forth in the privacy policy that applies to the Web site through which data is submitted by the customer or visitor (see FAQ 2 above on applicable privacy policy). As explained in each of our privacy policies, VeriSign permits customers and site visitors to opt out from receiving further marketing notifications, with certain security and legally-required exceptions (see the other FAQs on opting-out).

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Does VeriSign use cookies?

Yes, we use cookies in the manner disclosed in the applicable privacy policy.

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Is VeriSign P3P compliant?

At this time, VeriSign has not implemented P3P. (The "Platform for Privacy Preferences" is an Internet standard that theoretically allows browsers, such as Microsoft's IE6, to interpret Web site privacy policies.)

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What is the EU Safe Harbor?

The "Safe Harbor" is a program administered by the US Department of Commerce that permits a US company to certify that it complies with a set of privacy principles that the European Union has deemed necessary from the perspective of EU data protection law. The program is outlined at http://www.export.gov/safeharbor. VeriSign has also engaged TRUSTe (see FAQ 4 for a description of TRUSTe) to certify its Safe Harbor policy and provide alternative dispute resolution for privacy-related disputes, as required by the US Department of Commerce EU Safe Harbor principles. Accordingly, the verisign.com Privacy Statement bears the EU Safe Harbor Seal that is issued by TRUSTe, in addition to the TRUSTe trustmark.

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Has VeriSign joined the EU Safe Harbor?

Yes, but only for a certain type of data and only with respect to VeriSign, Inc. On May 23, 2005 VeriSign, Inc. certified to the US Department of Commerce that it met the requirements of the EU Safe Harbor with respect to the following data: the personally identifiable information that it receives from or about customers in the European Union in connection with the following VeriSign Managed Security Services: Managed Firewall and VPN Services, Managed Intrusion Prevention Services, Managed Intrusion Detection Services, Managed Vulnerability Protection Services, Managed Vulnerability Alerting Services, and Managed Incident Response and Forensics Services.

VeriSign's other business units, service offerings, and data collections are not covered by the EU Safe Harbor.

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Where can I learn more about VeriSign's participation in the EU Safe Harbor?

VeriSign's EU Safe Harbor Policy is contained in the verisign.com Privacy Statement (http://www.verisign.com/Privacy/index.html). This Policy contains more detail about VeriSign's participation in the EU Safe Harbor.

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