overview
principles
pasts
regimes
online
global
Australia
states
Europe
elsewhere
industry
agencies
advocacy
certification
reports
hot spots
clickwrap
negligence
warranties
expectations
trust
activism
cases
landmarks
related
Guides:
Information
Economy
Governance
Security &
Infocrime
Privacy
Marketing
Networks
identity
related
Profiles:
online ADR
trustmarks
forgery &
fakes
spam in
Australia
auctions |
industry
and self-regulation
This page is under redevelopment.
The US Electronic Commerce & Consumer Protection Group
(E-Commerce
Group) includes America Online, AT&T, Dell, IBM,
Microsoft, Network Solutions, and AOL Time Warner.
In launching the group a spokesman indicated that "we
are proposing a model that can now be evaluated by all companies
doing business online, consumers, and governments around
the world," going on to describe its new guidelines
as a contribution to "an important global dialogue
on how to construct a set of global rules for a global medium."
The guidelines cover marketing practices and information
about goods and services, transactions, cancellation, security,
privacy, and customer support. Merchants are encouraged
to participate in third-party dispute resolution mechanisms.
All very well, say consumer advocates, but the code of practice
doesn't go far enough.
Locally the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA)
has placed its direct marketing Merchant Code of Conduct
online and the Institute of Chartered Accountants licenses
members under the global WebTrust
program.
There is increasing interest in online alternate dispute
resolution (ADR) mechanisms that allow businesses and consumers
to address e-commerce disputes outside the courts. That
is of potential value when the disputants are located in
different jurisdictions. It builds on the long history of
B2B arbitration discussed in Dezalay & Garth's Dealing
in Virtue. This site features a profile
on B2B and B2C ADR schemes and issues.
Retailers and service providers have sought to encourage
consumer confidence by the inclusion of website 'seals'
(aka trustmarks), indicating that the site owner complies
with voluntary codes of practice. We've discussed the major
'certification' businesses, such as TRUSTe and BBBOnline,
later in this guide and in a more detailed profile.
ISPs
Australia's Internet Industry Association (IIA)
released its industry code
of conduct in 1999.
The code complements the regulatory powers of the Australian
Communications & Media Authority (ACMA)
under the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services)
Act 1999, discussed in our Censorship
guide.
Domain Registration
There is a discussion of domain registration scams and other
issues in the auDA and DNS
profiles on this site.
Auctions
Claims of misrepresentation, over-charging and non-performance
mean that online trading fora such as eBay are associated
with a high number of compaints to government regulatory
agencies and nongovernment consumer protection bodies. We
have discussed auction sites in a more detailed profile
here.
The US Electronic Commerce & Consumer Protection Group
(E-Commerce
Group) includes America Online, AT&T, Dell, IBM,
Microsoft, Network Solutions, and AOL Time Warner.
In launching the group a spokesman indicated that "we
are proposing a model that can now be evaluated by all companies
doing business online, consumers, and governments around
the world," going on to describe its new guidelines
as a contribution to "an important global dialogue
on how to construct a set of global rules for a global medium."
The guidelines cover marketing practices and information
about goods and services, transactions, cancellation, security,
privacy, and customer support. Merchants are encouraged
to participate in third-party dispute resolution mechanisms.
All very well, say consumer advocates, but the code of practice
doesn't go far enough.
Locally the Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA)
has placed its direct marketing Merchant Code of Conduct
online and the Institute of Chartered Accountants licenses
members under the global WebTrust
program.
There is increasing interest in online alternate dispute
resolution (ADR) mechanisms that allow businesses and consumers
to address e-commerce disputes outside the courts. That
is of potential value when the disputants are located in
different jurisdictions. It builds on the long history of
B2B arbitration discussed in Dezalay & Garth's Dealing
in Virtue. This site features a profile
on B2B and B2C ADR schemes and issues.
Retailers and service providers have sought to encourage
consumer confidence by the inclusion of website 'seals'
(aka trustmarks), indicating that the site owner complies
with voluntary codes of practice. We've discussed the major
'certification' businesses, such as TRUSTe and BBBOnline,
later in this guide and in a more detailed profile.
Auctions
Claims of misrepresentation, over-charging and non-performance
mean that online trading fora such as eBay are associated
with a high number of compaints to government regulatory
agencies and nongovernment consumer protection bodies. We
have discussed auction sites in a more detailed profile
here.
next page (government
agencies)
|
|
Ketupa