E-commerce is the new trend, in which business modules operate electronically over the Internet. Any transaction over the internet whether by an individual or by an organization is known as e-commerce. Shopping online from amazon.com is a form of e-commerce or buying travel tickets from airasia.com is also an e-commerce. E-commerce has grown substantially in the past decade, eliminating the traditional brick and mortar and thus has created convinience. Customers can survey and purchase their products from their own home at any time. It also eliminates intermediaries and also creates efficiency and pushes down costs. There are various forms of e-commerce such as B2B (business to business), B2C (business to consumers) and many more, we shall not go in too deep.
In an electronic market, consumers must be very carefull since they may become victims of unfair marketing practices. Consumers must be aware fraud, deception, misuse of personal information, insufficient disclosure of information such as refund policies, cyber crimes, contract terms and many more. There are numerous international e-commerce laws present to help protect the customers. Not only does it protect customers but also protects businesses and provides guidelines for companies/individuals setting up e-commerce sites. Let us examine two international legal framework targeted towards e-commerce.
OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce (1999) is a framework created to protect online consumers and eliminate certain uncertainties that consumers and businesses may incur. These guidelines are created to help governments, businesses and consumer representatives to develop, implement and maintain an online protection system. These guidelines established by OECD represents the existing legal protection available to both consumers and business and promotes fair business practices, advertising and marketing practices; clear information about an online business's identity, the goods or services it offers and the terms and conditions of any transaction; a transparent process for the confirmation of transactions; secure payment mechanisms; fair, timely and affordable dispute resolution and redress; privacy protection; and consumer and business education. This framework can be downloadable in many various languages and is an internationally recognized framework.
Another internationally recognized framework is the APEC BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE which provides the development and use of electronic commerce by creating legal, regulatory and policy environments in the Asia Pacific (APEC) region which are transparent, clear and well defined. This framework is to ensure e-business are operating at the proper standard and that governments and businesses should work together closely in order to regulate. Below is a fraction of the agreement under the APEC BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE retrieved from the Internet.
" The role of governments is to promote and facilitate the development and uptake of electronic commerce by :
- Providing a favourable environment, including the legal and regulatory aspects, which is predictable, transparent and consistent
- Providing an environment which promotes trust and confidence among electronic commerce participants
- Promoting the efficient functioning of electronic commerce internationally by aiming, wherever possible, to develop domestic frameworks which are compatible with evolving international norms and practices, and
- Becoming a leading-edge user in order to catalyse and encourage greater use of electronic means
For electronic commerce to flourish, business and government should cooperate wherever possible to ensure the development of affordable, accessible and interoperable communication and information infrastructure.
Government and business should co-operate to develop and implement technologies and policies, which build trust and confidence in safe, secure and reliable communication, information and delivery systems, and which address issues including privacy, authentication and consumer protection."
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