e-commerce@its.best.uk - Fatal System Error

7.56 It is recommended that preliminaryassessments are completed by June 2000as part of the more general sectoral impactassessments, detailed withinrecommendation 8.2.International Agreement7.57 In a number of areas, particularly forinstance in the field of consumer protection,UK legislation stems from EU Directives.Regulatory regimes need therefore to bereviewed and reformed at the internationalas well as domestic level to ensure they takeaccount of the breakdown of geographicalbarriers brought about by changingtechnology. It is important to be aware thatno supplier is likely to be able to meet 15different sets of consumer, health and safetyor other requirements when exportingthroughout the EU. The EU e-commercedirective only tackles this issue in relation tocertain requirements. In other areas furtherharmonisation of EU legislation is required.For this reason, the UK, together with theEuropean Commission and Parliament,favours ‘high level’ harmonisation under thedraft directive for distance marketing offinancial services. Unfortunately, most otherEU member states are opposed.Recommendation 7.17: the UK shouldpromote a co-ordinated and joined-upapproach to e-commerce across Europeand globally.7.58 In order for the UK to take fulladvantage of the opportunities afforded bye-commerce, co-operation is required on aninternational basis, in particular within theEuropean Union. It is imperative to ensurethat regulation in the rest of the world is ofhigh quality and that the UK is in step withit. Failure to do this will lead to marketfailures (chapter five). The UK must ensurethat it plays a full part in EU regulatorydevelopment, and that the EU legalframework encourages rather thandiscourages the development of e-commerce.In a Council Resolution on the InformationSociety last year, the member states invitedthe European Commission to review theexisting consumer legislation in the light ofe-commerce developments. This work mustbe given priority.7.59 A number of EU initiatives dealspecifically with the Internet e.g. the draftE-Commerce and Copyright Directives, andthe Action Plan on safer use of the Internet.In addition, a large number of horizontalinitiatives also bear significantly one-commerce, including the TransparencyDirective, the Distance Selling Directive, thedraft Directive on the distance marketing offinancial services and the Data ProtectionDirective. The Distance Selling Directiveincludes provisions to protect consumersfrom unsolicited commercialcommunications, including e-mail or “spam”(see chapter ten). It allows member statesto adopt either an “opt-in” or an “opt-out”approach. As well as providing the effectiveprotection the Directive requires, theGovernment will need to ensure that itsapproach does not act as a disincentiveto e-commerce development.7.60 The UK should take a leading role one-commerce in Europe and should promotefull and effective co-ordination within theEuropean Commission. The UK should workto ensure that EU initiatives are compatiblewith co-regulatory principles and, in thoseareas where it is possible, carry throughimplementation at an early stage rather thanwaiting for a complete package to be agreed.7.61 The UK should push forward EU work toaddress the problems and uncertainties whichare likely to grow as cross-border transactionsincrease. The draft E-Commerce Directiveusefully proposes that traders should begoverned by the regulatory requirementsof the member state in which they are based,so that suppliers do not have to comply withfifteen different sets of rules. The Teamwelcomes the recent appointment of a newCommissioner for Enterprise and theInformation Society and recommends that thenew co-ordinating team in the UK shouldwork closely with the Commissioner to pushforward a EU-wide e-commerce strategy.7.62 Nevertheless, the workings ofinternational law will remain complex.Cross-border enforcement will be a challengeboth for regulatory bodies and for businessesand consumers who find themselves incontractual disputes. The field of privatelaw disputes between litigants is subject inEurope to governing conventions (theBrussels, Lugano and Rome Conventions).The draft E-Commerce Directive does notseek to go into this field of law, but proposesthat information should be made availableabout the contractual rights and obligationsE-commerce@its.best.uk41