Rule-making
on Internet
Letter
to the Editor of the FinancialTimes
From Maria Livanos Cattaui
Paris, 5 June 1998
- Never a week passes without some authoritative forecast of vertiginous growth
in commerce over the Internet. Now Price Waterhouse is estimating that by 2002
the value of goods and services traded on the Web will be $343bn. ("Two-speed
digital economy" FT June 3rd)
These upbeat forecasts are being made despite the
maze of often conflicting national regulations spread across all business sectors.
But if electronic commerce is to reach its full potential for business and consumers
alike, a start has to be made in creating order out of chaos.
The role of governments should not go beyond establishing
an internationally consistent legislative and institutional framework that leaves
companies free to innovate and create trust in the electronic medium. Government
policy should aim at encouraging competition, reinforcing the sanctity of contract,
and protecting intellectual property.
Your editorial ("Crime on the line",
FT June 1st) rightly says that the Internet must be regulated with
a light touch, by voluntary codes. This is entirely feasible. Voluntary rules
drawn up by the International Chamber of Commerce have governed cross-border
transactions for more than 70 years and are applied throughout the world.
Now these rules are being adapted to the electronic
age. ICC rules are already in place for ensuring trustworthy digital transactions
(GUIDEC), and only last month ICC introduced guidelines for ethical advertising
on the Internet. Model contract clauses for privacy protection are in the pipeline.
In cyberspace, the consumer is king, able to flit
from site to site, choosing and comparing prices without the constraints of
distance and free of the salesman’s blandishments. Creating consumer confidence
in transactions over the Internet is just as important for business as it is
for governments. This is a good reason why governments should feel comfortable
about relying on business to regulate itself effectively.
ICC
Commission on Telecommunications a
nd Information Technologies
ICC
Commission on Advertising, Marketing and Distribution