Consumer-Facing Websites Including FCC's Using Better Privacy, Security, Finds OTA Audit

Fifty-two percent of more than 1,000 consumer-facing websites analyzed for their privacy and security practices qualified for the Online Trust Alliance's honor roll, a 5 percent improvement from last year, said an OTA news release Tuesday outlining its ninth annual audit. OTA, which began operating May 1 as an initiative of the Internet Society, said most websites in the consumer services category qualified for the honor roll (76 percent), followed by internet retailers (48 percent), news and media (48 percent), ISPs and email providers (46 percent), government (39 percent) and banks (27 percent). Among the top 50 sites praised are: Airbnb, Fitbit, the FCC, several Alphabet/Google sites including Gmail and YouTube, Instagram, Microsoft Outlook, Snapchat and Twitter. OTA analyzed websites between mid-April and end of May. Internet Society Chief Internet Technology Officer Olaf Kolkman said there has been an increase in sites using end-to-end encryption, showing it's becoming the "norm for site traffic."