E-commerce is anything that involves an online transaction. E-commerce provides multiple benefits to the consumers in form of availability of goods at lower cost, wider choice and saves time. The general category of e-commerce can be broken down into two parts: E-merchandise: E-finance. E commerce involves conducting business using modern communication instruments: telephone, fax, e-payment, money transfer systems, e-data interchange and the Internet. Online businesses like financial services, travel, entertainment, and groceries are all likely to grow. Forces influencing the distribution of global e-commerce and its forms include economic factors, political factors, cultural factors and supranational institutions.
1. E-merchandise: selling goods and services electronically and moving items through distribution channels, for example through Internet shopping for groceries, tickets, music, clothes, hardware, travel, books, flowers or gifts.
2. E-finance: banking, debit cards, smart cards, banking machines, telephone and Internet banking, insurance, financial services and mortgages on-line(Elizabeth Goldsmith and others,2000).
Electronic commerce has the potential to bring significant benefits to consumers. It can provide greater choice, promote competition among suppliers, and allow businesses to develop new relationships with their customers for mutual advantage. It also has the potential to play a large part in the development of the cross-border shopping dimension of the internal market. While e-commerce is growing, obstacles to consumer confidence remain.
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GROWTH OF E-COMMERCE
Electronic commerce or e-commerce encompasses all business conducted by means of computer networks. Advances in telecommunications and computer technologies in recent years have made computer networks an integral part of the economic infrastructure. More and more companies are facilitating transactions over web. E-commerce provides multiple benefits to the consumers in form of availability of goods at lower cost, wider choice and saves time. People can buy goods with a click of mouse button without moving out of their house or office. Similarly online services such as banking, ticketing including airlines, bus, railways, bill payments, hotel booking etc. have been of tremendous benefit for the customers. Most experts believe that overall e-commerce will increase exponentially in coming years. Business to business transactions will represent the largest revenue but online retailing will also enjoy a drastic growth. Online businesses like financial services, travel, entertainment, and groceries are all likely to grow.
As per the findings of Internet and Mobile Association India the total value of E-Commerce activities within India has Crossed Rs.570 Crore during 2004-05. Internet and Mobile Association India a non-profit organisation founded in January 2004 by leading Indian Internet portals, projects that e-commerce revenues in the country will reach Rs 2,300 Crore in the 2007 financial year, growing at 95 percent over the year 2006. This pertains to the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) segment.
?E-commerce market size of India
| Year | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2007-08 |
| Business to Consumer transaction in Rs. (Crore) | 130 | 255 | 570 | 1,180 | 2,300 |
| Percent Growth | - | 96 | 124 | 107 | 95 |
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FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DISTRIBUTION AND FORMS OF GLOBAL E-COMMERCE
Nir B. Kshetri (2001) reported that the twin forces of globalization and the Internet have the potential to offer several benefits to individuals and organizations in developing as well as developed countries. Apart from economic benefits such as more choices and the convenience of shopping at home, the twin forces can make progress on educational and scientific development, mutual aid, and world peace; foster democracy; and offer exposure to other cultures. To fully exploit the potential of the Internet and e-commerce, policy makers in developing as well as industrialized countries are taking initiatives to develop the global information infrastructure (GII) and connect their national information infrastructures to the GII (Gore 1996).
All countries are not likely to benefit equally from the virtuous circle of Internet diffusion created by globalization and multiple revolutions in Communication technologies (ICTs). Forces influencing the distribution of global e-commerce and its forms include economic factors, political factors, cultural factors and supranational institutions. Economic factors mainly influence perceived relative advantage of Internet use whereas political and cultural factors influence the compatibility of the Internet with a society. Supranational institutions? initiatives are influencing the price, quality and availability of ICT products and services, mainly in developing countries, thereby increasing relative advantage of Internet use. Moreover international institutions are influencing laws, regulations and policies in developing countries making them more compatible with Internet use. The influences of these factors on Internet adoption in general and the three phases of online transaction advertising and searching phase, payment phase and delivery phase are presented in?the Table.
Factors influencing the distribution and forms of Global e-commerce
| Stage | Economic and infra structure related factors | Socio cultural factors | Political legal factors | Supranational institutions |
| Internet adoption | Per capita GDP | Literacy rate and computer skill | The internet?s democratic nature incompatible with authoritarian political | UNDP-introduction of the internet in many countries. |
| Availability of telephone and computer | English language skill | structures | GATS-competition in telecom sectors | |
| Pricing structure | Viewed as a tool of cultural imperialism in some | Tariff and non tariff barriers to ICT products | ITA- reducing the price of ICT products. | |
| Buying/selling online | Availability of credit | Intellectual property protection | Redress mechanisms in case of problems in online transactions | UNCITRAL model law |
| Advertising and searching phase | Operating speed of computer and modern size | Influence of language and symbols used on site visited and purchase decision | Ban on some website in authoritarian regimes | Products can be advertised and searched globally on GTPN of UNCTAD |
| Payment phase | Penetration rate of credit cards | Forms of payment: check, wire transfer, cash on delivery etc, | Governments? concern on the outflow of foreign currency. | UNCTAD smart card |
| Delivery phase | Delivery means and infrastructure | Products stolen some countries | Tariff and non- tariff barriers | Electronic delivery? free of custom duties in WTO member |
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CHALLENGES FOR E COMMERCE
Internet based e-commerce has besides, great advantages, posed many threats because of its being what is popularly called faceless and borderless.
Some examples of ethical issues that have emerged as a result of electronic commerce. All of the following examples are both ethical issues and issues that are uniquely related to electronic commerce.
Ethical issues:
Jackie Gilbert Bette Ann Stead (2001),reported the following ethical issues related to e-commerce.
1) Privacy
Privacy has been and continues to be a significant issue of concern for both current and prospective electronic commerce customers. With regard to web interactions and e- commerce the following dimensions are most salient:
(1) Privacy consists of not being interfered with, having the power to exclude; individual
privacy is a moral right.
(2) Privacy is ?a desirable condition with respect to possession of information by other persons about him/herself on the observation/perceiving of him/herself by other persons?
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2) Security concerns
In addition to privacy concerns, other ethical issues are involved with electronic commerce. The Internet offers unprecedented ease of access to a vast array of goods and services. The rapidly expanding arena of ?click and mortar? and the largely unregulated cyberspace medium have however prompted concerns about both privacy and data security.
3) Other ethical issues
Manufacturers Competing with Intermediaries Online
?Disintermediation,? a means eliminating the intermediary such as retailers, wholesalers, outside sales reps by setting up a Website to sell directly to customers.
Disintermediation include (1) music being downloaded directly from producers (2) authors
distributing their work from their own Web sites or through writer co-operatives.
Dinosaurs ? ?Dinosaurs? is a term that refers to executives and college professors who refuse to recognize that technology has changed our lives. When an executive speaks in terms of the Internet being the ?wave of the future,? it is a sure sign of ?dinosaur.
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Perceptions of risk in e-service encounters:
Mauricio S. Featherman, Joseph S. Valacich & John D. Wells(2006) reported that as companies race to digitize physical-based service processes repackaging them as online e-services, it becomes increasingly important to understand how consumers perceive the digitized e-service alternative. E-service replacements may seem unfamiliar, artificial and non-authentic in comparison to traditional service processing methods. Consumers may believe that new internet-based processing methods expose them to new potential risks the dangers of online fraud , identity theft? and phishing swindles means schemes to steal confidential information using spoofed web sites, have become commonplace, and are likely to cause alarm and fear within consumers.
E-commerce Integration:
Beside many an advantages offered by the education a no. of challenges have been posed to the recent education system.
Zabihollah Rezaee, Kenneth R. Lambert and W. Ken Harmon(2006) reported that E-commerce Integration assures coverage of all critical aspects of e-commerce, but it also has several obstacles. First, adding e-commerce materials to existing business courses can overburden faculty and students alike trying to cope with additional subject matter in courses already saturated with required information. Second, many business faculty members may not wish to add e-commerce topics to their courses primarily because of their own lack of comfort with technology-related subjects. Third and finally, this approach requires a great deal of coordination among faculty and disciplines in business schools to ensure proper coverage of e-commerce education.
It act 2000 and legal system:
Beside many an advantages offered by the IT a no. of challenges have been posed to the legal system. The information transferred by electronic means which culminates into a contract raises many legal issues which cannot be answered within the existing provisions of the contract act. The IT act does not form a complete code for the electronic contracts.
Farooq Ahmed(2001) reported that Some of the multifaceted issues raised are summarized in following manner:
1. Formation of e-contracts
a) Contracts by e-data interchange
b) Cyber contracts
2. Validity of e-transactions.
3. Dichotomy of offer and invitation to treat.
4. Communication of offer and acceptance
5. Mistake in e-commerce
a) Mutual mistake
b) Unilateral mistake
6. Jurisdiction: cyber space transactions know no national and international boundaries and are not analogous to 3- dimensional world in which common law principles involved.
7. Identity of parties
The issues of jurisdiction, applicable law and enforcement of the judgments are not confined to only national boundaries. The problems raised are global in nature and need global resolution.
Human skills required for E-Commerce:
It?s not just about E-commerce;
It?s about redefining business models, reinventing business processes, changing corporate cultures, and raising relationships with customers and suppliers to unprecedented levels of intimacy.
Internet-enabled Electronic Commerce:
?? Web site development
?? Web Server technologies
?? Security
?? Integration with existing applications and processes
Developing Electronic Commerce solutions successfully across the Organization means building reliable, scalable systems for
1) security,
2) E- commerce payments
3) Supply- chain management
4) Sales force, data warehousing, customer relations
5) Integrating all of this existing back-end operation.
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STATUS OF E-COMMERCE IN INDIA
Today E-commerce is a byword in Indian society and it has become an integral part of our daily life. There are websites providing any number of goods and services. Then there are those, which provide a specific product along with its allied services
Multi-product e-commerce- These Indian E-commerce portals provide goods and services in a variety of categories. To name a few: Apparel and accessories for men and women, Health and beauty products , Books and magazines, Computers and peripherals, Vehicles, Software, Consumer electronics, Household appliances, Jewelry, Audio/video, entertainment, goods, Gift articles, Real estate and services
Single-product e-commerce- Some Indian portals/websites deal in a specialized field, for example:
1) Automobiles- On these sites we can buy and sell fourwheelers and two-wheelers, new as well as used vehicles, online. Some of the services they provide are: Car research and reviews, Online evaluation, Technical specifications, Vehicle Insurance, Vehicle Finance.
2) Stocks and shares and e-commerce- In India today, we can even deal in stocks and shares through e-commerce. Some of the services offered to registered members? are: Online buying/selling of stocks and shares, Market analysis and research, Company information, Comparison of companies, Research on Equity and Mutual Funds.
3) Real estate and e-commerce- They provide information on new properties as well as properties for resale. One can deal directly with developer through consultant. Allied services: Housing Finance, Insurance companies, Architects & Interior Designers, NRI services, Packers & Movers.
4) Travel & tourism and e-commerce-? India has a rich history and heritage and e-commerce is instrumental, to a large extent, in selling India as a product, encouraging Indians as well as foreigners to see its multifaceted culture and beauty. The tourist destination sites are categorized according to themes like: Adventure ? trekking, mountain climbing etc, Eco-Themes pertains to jungles, flora and fauna.
5) Gifts and e-commerce- In the bygone days, one had to plan what to gift a loved one, trudge across to your favorite shop, and browse for hours before purchasing a gift. The gifts are categorized as: Collectibles like paintings and sculptures, Luxury items like leather goods, perfumes, jewelry boxes, etc, household curios and carpets, etc, Toys & games, Chocolates, Flowers, Woodcraft & metal-craft.
Future of E-Commerce in India:
Today, we are talking about e-commerce progress level of India, the seventh-largest by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Indian E-Commerce space percentage is getting higher as more and more online retailers enter the market. Although this level of entry in the e-commerce market is good from a long term perspective, the challenge is that most entrepreneurs don?t have the resources or capital to wait for years before they can get profits. The past 2 years have seen a rise in the number of companies? embracing e-commerce technologies and the Internet in India. Most e-commerce sites have been targeted towards the NRI?s with Gift delivery services, books, Audio and videocassettes e.t.c. Major Indian portal sites have also shifted towards e-commerce instead? of depending on advertising revenue. The web communities built around these portal sites with content have been effectively targeted to sell everything from event? and movie tickets the grocery and computers. This is not to say that the e-commerce scenario has been bad in India as highly successful e-business like baba bazaar and India mart have proved. Indian Banks too have been very successful in adapting EC and EDI Technologies to provide customers with real time account status, transfer of funds between current and checking accounts, stop payment facilities. ICICI Bank, Global TRUST BANK AND UTI-Bank also have put their electronic banking over the internet facilities in place for the up coming e-commerce market speed post also plain to clone the federal express story with online package status at any moment in time . The future does look very bright for e-commerce in India with even the stock exchanges coming online providing a online stock portfolio and status with a fifteen minute delay in prices. The day cannot be far when with RBI regulations will able to see stock transfer and sale over the Net with specialized services.
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LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE
Besides developing the e-infrastructure in the country through effective Telecom Policy measures, the Indian government is taking appropriate steps as confidence building measures for the growth of e-commerce. It has created the necessary legal an administrative framework through the enactment of the Information Technology IT Act which combines e-commerce transactions and computer misuse and frauds rolled into an Omnibus Act.? While on the one hand it seeks to create the Public Key Infrastructure(PKI) for electronic authentication through digital signatures, on the other hand, it seeks to build confidence among the public that the frauds in the cyber space will not go unpunished.? The Controller of Certifying Authorities? (CCA)? has? been? put? in? place? for? effective implementation? of? the? IT Act.? The Act also enables e-governance applications for electronic delivery of services to citizens. The CCA acts as a regulator for the growth of e-commerce and e-governance.? It is responsible for? the establishment of? PKI? the? country through? licensing? of certifying? authorities? (CAs).
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CONSUMER PROTECTION
Promotion of consumer welfare is the common goal of consumer protection and competition policy. At the root of both consumer protection and competition policy is the recognition of an unequal relationship between consumers and producers. Protection of consumers is accomplished by setting minimum quality specifications and safety standards for both goods and services and establishing mechanisms to redress their grievances. The objective of competition is met by ensuring that there are sufficient numbers of producers so that no producer can attain a position of dominance. If the nature of the industry is such that dominance in terms of market share cannot be avoided, it seeks to ensure that there is no abuse on account of this dominance. Competition policy also seeks to forestall other forms of market failure, such as formation of cartels, leading to collusive pricing, division of markets and joint decisions to reduce supply. Mergers and acquisitions also need to be regulated as they reduce competition.
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CONSUMER PROTECTION IN INDIA
The Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 1986 based on United Nations guidelines with the objective of providing better protection of consumers? interests. The Act provides for effective safeguards to consumers against various types of exploitations and unfair dealings, relying on mainly compensatory rather than a punitive or preventive approach. The Act applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted, and covers the private, public, and cooperative sectors and provides for speedy and inexpensive adjudication. The rights provided under the Act are:
? The right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property.
? The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods and services, as the case may be, to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices.
? The right to be assured of access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.
? The right to be heard and assured that consumer interest will receive due consideration at appropriate fora.
? The right to seek redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.
? The right to consumer education Under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 a threetier, simple, quasi-judicial machinery has been established at the national, State, and district levels for hearing cases raised by consumers. The Act had been amended in 1991 impact on the producers than the demand for quality products by quality-conscious domestic consumers.
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E-COMMERCE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Several industry groups, ministries and trade associations have addressed the issue of consumer protection in the context of E-Commerce. They have proposed detailed guidelines for consumer protection. Some of these are summarized in the sections below:
a.? The Electronic Commerce and Consumer Protection Group (?E-Commerce Group?). The Electronic Commerce and Consumer Protection Group (?E-Commerce Group?) is composed of leading companies in the Internet, online, and electronic commerce industries (America Online, AT&T, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Network Solutions and Time Warner). This E-Commerce Group recognized the importance of consumer protection in the Internet age and has addressed these issues for the purpose of creating industry best practices and a predictable legal framework for consumer protection in global electronic transactions. The Group has developed guidelines for consumer protection to help establish an effective global framework that reduces the need for compliance with a multitude of differing laws. As vendors follow these Guidelines, consumers are? expected to benefit from consistent consumer protection practices. Through this effort, the Group hopes to minimize emphasis on the choice of law of the consumer or the merchant by following the Guidelines and adhering to a dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes. The E-Commerce Group has extensively discussed these issues with government officials, other companies, and consumers in seeking progress in these important areas. The work of the OECD has been of particular help in describing and sorting out these issues. Consumer protection, legal predictability, and continued growth of global electronic commerce are all addressed in the Guidelines for Merchant-to-Consumer Transactions (?Guidelines?).
b.? The Okinawa Charter on Global Information Society (GIS) by G8. While recognizing ICT as one of the most potent forces in shaping the twenty-first century, G8 has issued a charter on Global Information Society (GIS). This charter addressed, at length, the issues such as: seizing digital opportunities,? bridging digital divide, and promoting global participation. To achieve its objectives, the charter has set priorities on fostering policy, regulatory and network readiness; improving connectivity, increasing access and lowering cost; building human capacity and encouraging participation in global e-commerce networks. In the Okinawa Charter, the G8 reaffirmed its commitment to the efforts underway to formulate and implement a coherent strategy to bridge the digital divide.
c.? Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan (MITI) Proposal:? The MITI?s proposal for WTO E-Commerce Initiative is based on the belief that E-Commerce can have positive effects for all economies contributing to the mutually supportive goals of sustainable economic growth, enhancing public welfare, and fostering social cohesion. It can also be instrumental in helping developing economies participate in the multilateral trading system. Benefits accruing to developing economies from the rapid growth of E-Commerce will help them meet more effectively their vital development goals, such as poverty reduction, health and education. It suggests that WTO members should recognize the need to build up the capacity in developing economies to use effectively the opportunities presented by E-commerce which can help close the digital divide.
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OECD COMMITTEE FOR CONSUMER POLICY
INTRODUCTION
About one-fifth of total electronic commerce is accounted for by business-to-consumer transactions. Consumer and user trust is essential for its future development.
Cooperation by business and consumer organisations in developing a united approach to the development of consumer protection strategies for e-commerce is a vital step in improving the extent of consumer protection and consequently consumer confidence in this new way of doing business.
Such international cooperation can and is being achieved through international networks like the OECD?s Committee on Consumer Policy (CCP) which has been successful in building consensus among government, business and civil society. Both business and consumer organisations now participate in the committee?s work and regularly attend its meetings and the CCP has proven to offer an excellent opportunity for international cooperation and the development of consumer protection standards for global commerce.
THE GUIDELINES
At the end of 1999, and after 18 months of negotiation, the OECD completed and adopted Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce. The Guidelines set out the core characteristics of effective consumer protection for on-line business-to-consumer transactions. These Guidelines are proving helpful to governments, business, and consumers in very practical ways in trying to deal with this new environment as they provide instructive principles for both applying existing laws and developing new ones if necessary as they work to establish consumer protection mechanisms for e-commerce.
The Guidelines are a first step in encouraging a global approach to consumer protection in the on-line marketplace, a sector that is inherently international ? borderless. They facilitate on-line commerce consumer protection mechanisms without erecting barriers to trade and by increasing consumer confidence in e-commerce, they have the ability to help e-commerce reach its full potential.
Eight simple concepts form the basis of the recommendations. They are:
Transparent and Effective Protection:
E-commerce consumers should be no less protected when shopping on-line than when they buy from their local store or order from a catalogue.
Fair Business, Advertising and Marketing Practices:
Advertising should be clearly identifiable. Businesses should respect consumers? choices not to receive e-mail they don?t want. Business should take special care when targeting children, elderly, and others who may lack the capacity to understand the information as presented.
On-line Disclosures About the Business, the Goods and Services, and the Transaction:
Disclosure should include complete and accurate information about the business, about the goods or services for sale and about how the transaction is made. What this means is that e-customers should know which business they are really dealing with. They should have a complete description of what they are buying. And they should have enough information about the transaction process to be able to make an informed decision.
Confirmation Process:
The confirmation process for a sale should give the consumer a chance to see what he has agreed to buy and to change his mind if he wants before the purchase is completed.
Secure Payment Systems:
Payment systems need to be secure and easy to use.
Redress:
In an international transaction, redress is one of the most difficult areas to address, and the OECD recommendations recognise that further work is needed. The Guidelines articulate the principle that international e-commerce transactions are subject to an existing framework on applicable law and jurisdiction, but that it may be necessary to modify, or apply differently, this framework to make it effective to provide redress for e-commerce. The use of alternative dispute resolution is strongly recommended.
Privacy:
The OECD has been at the forefront of international privacy work for decades. Over 20 years ago, the OECD developed Guidelines Governing the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (1980). These Guidelines were developed long before everyone started worrying about privacy in e-commerce (because there was no e-commerce). Still today, the OECD Privacy Guidelines are considered to be a ?flagship? OECD document and still serve member countries as the basis for current international work on privacy in the on-line environment.
The Guidelines set out eight principles:
- Collection limitation principle
- Data quality principle
- Purpose specification principle
- Security safeguards principle
- Openness principle
- Individual participation principle
- Accountability principle
The OECD Consumer Protection Guidelines point directly to the 1980 Privacy Guidelines as the benchmark for providing privacy protection by recognising that ?business-to-consumer e-commerce should be conducted in accordance with the recognised principles set out in the 1980 OECD Privacy Guidelines.?
Education:
Finally, the OECD Guidelines encourage governments, business and consumers to work together to educate consumers about electronic commerce, to foster informed decision making by consumers participating in electronic commerce, and to increase business and consumer awareness of the consumer protection framework that applies to their on-line activities.
FOLLOW ON ACTION
The Guidelines are already proving to be an influential document.
They have been, or soon will be, translated into nearly every native language of the OECD Member countries and will be available on the OECD web site.
Private sector organisations (both business and consumer) are using the Guidelines as they develop their own set of merchant and consumer guidelines.
Governments are using the Guidelines as a benchmark when examining their national laws to ensure effective consumer protection on-line. And some have used the guidelines in developing their own national code and trustmark programs. For example inAustraliathe Guidelines formed the basis for our best practice model for business titled Building Consumer Sovereignty in Electronic Commerce ? A best practice model for business. Still others have hosted workshops on the Guidelines to educate business and consumers in their respective countries on the importance of the implementation of the Guidelines for providing effective consumer protection in the on-line environment.
The Committee on Consumer Policy will continue to cooperate with business and consumer representatives, and all of civil society to ensure that the Guidelines are implemented effectively and help educate on-line consumers and business about their rights and responsibilities on-line. The CCP will also continue to foster the international dialogue on consumer protection issues, encouraging government, business and consumer representatives to work together and learn from each other.
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CONCLUSION
E-commerce creates new opportunities for business; it also creates new opportunities for education and academics. It appears that there is tremendous potential for providing e-business education. A developing country can become industrialized and modernized if it can extensively apply IT to enhance productivity and international competitiveness, develop e-commerce and e-governance applications. An information-based society or knowledge based society is composed of IT products, IT applications in society and economy as a whole.? Many countries in Asia are taking advantage of e-commerce through opening of economies, which is essential for promoting competition and diffusion of Internet technologies. The Internet is boosting efficiency and enhancing market integration in developing countries. The developed world has had a long lead over the developing countries in the telecom infrastructure. The world average of teledensity is 15 per cent compared to the developed world average of 55 to 60 percent.? Same is true of PCs, Internet connections, and the number of Internet hosts.? All these traditional indicators for India as seen above are still small.? But the total number of Internet connections are large in absolute numbers.? Large enough to have a critical mass of 10 to 20 million users to be able to make an impact on e-commerce and e-governance.? In the next 3 to 5 years, India will have 30 to 70 million Internet users which will equal, if not surpass, many of the developed countries.? Internet economy will then become more meaningful in India.? The number of e-transactions will be large enough to sustain the Internet economy.
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The impact of globalisation on consumers and consumer policy is at the heart of the activities of the OECD?s work on consumer policy. The OECD has for many years been examining a number of issues directly related to cross-border consumer transactions, including ways to build trust and confidence on-line and to overcome existing barriers to a truly global marketplace.
By setting out the core characteristics of effective consumer protection for on-line business-to-consumer transactions, it is hoped the OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce will help eliminate some of the uncertainties that both consumers and business encounter when buying and selling on-line and ultimately assist on-line commerce in the global marketplace to reach its full potential.
Source: http://jurisonline.in/?p=11109
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