According to Consumers International, a federation of over 250 consumer organisations in 115 countries, more than 460 web sites were investigated between April and July 2002. It was found that 49% of health and financial sites failed to give appropriate warnings, such as advising consumers to consult a professional before acting on advice given.
Moreover, at least half of sites giving advice on medical and financial matters did not give full information about the authority and credibility of the people behind that advice. The survey further claims that 62% of sites contained vague and unspecific information, whilst 39% of sites collecting personal information did not have a privacy policy.
Finally, 60% of the web sites provided no indication of whether their content was influenced by commercial interests such as partners, sponsors or advertisers.
Guidelines for improving web site credibility are available from:
www.consumerwebwatch.org.