Trust on the World Wide Web: A Survey

Author(s): Jennifer Golbeck

Source:
    Journal:Foundations and Trends® in Web Science
    ISSN Print:1555-077X,  ISSN Online:1555-0788
    Publisher:Now Publishers
    Volume 1 Number 2,

Document Type: Article
Pages: 67 (131-197)
DOI: 10.1561/1800000006

Abstract: The success of the Web is based largely on its open, decentralized nature; at the same time, that allows for a wide range of perspectives and intentions. Trust is required to foster successful interactions and to filter the abundance of information. In this review, we present a comprehensive survey of trust on the Web in all its contexts. Three main targets of trust are identified: content, services, and people. Trust in the content on the Web, including webpages, websites, and Semantic Web data is addressed first. Then, we move on to look at services including peer-to-peer environments and Web services. This includes a discussion of Web policy frameworks for access control. People are the final group, where we look at the role of trust in web-based social networks and algorithms for inferring trust relationships. Finally, we review applications that rely on trust and address how they utilize trust to improve functionality and interface.

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