Case Study

Building trust in the online environment with accreditation

Building trust in the online environment is key to economic and social development. Lack of trust, in particular because of a perceived lack of legal certainty, makes consumers, businesses and public authorities hesitate to carry out transactions electronically and to adopt new services.

European Regulation (EU) 910/2014 seeks to enhance trust in electronic transactions in the internal market by providing a common foundation for secure electronic interaction between citizens, businesses and public authorities, thereby increasing the effectiveness of public and private online services, electronic business and electronic commerce in the Union.

The Regulation requires Trust Service Providers (TSPs) to gain ‘qualified status’. This involves achieving certification from an accredited certification body through an approved scheme, i.e. a certification scheme that has been demonstrated as suitable to assess all of the requirements placed on TSPs by the Regulation. Qualified status is then granted by the UK Supervisory Authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Further information is available for the ICO website.