Kirsty Newman 20:20, 2 Sep 2004 (EST)
Nowadays, E-commerce is getting bigger and bigger as the new technology is developing, providing a flexible place for companies and consumers to exchange goods and services immediately and efficiently without barriers of time or distance. However, e-commerce has opened a new challenge to government – consumer protection. As cyberspace allows fraud and deception in online shopping activities, and consumers shop in a lack of transparency and legal uncertainty, they are not protected from the government. When consumers shop online, they provide their personal information, such as a credit card number. However, no policy or laws are protecting those online shopper’s privacy.
E-commerce is having a profound effect on global trade, making a lot of people concerned about the laws which protect them from the government. It is hard to make a policy of e-commerce protection standards to protect consumers all over the world.
Producers and consumers need to know the legal status of a transaction conducted on the Internet, and customers need to know who and what they are dealing with out there on the Internet. Consumer protection is important for e-commerce which has now become fully globalized.
As internet is always open for anyone, and it easily allows fraud and deception for online consumers, who may need the security protection from some associations or government. Federal Trade Commission is an association that protecting consumers in the trading process.
Federal Trade Commission stated that “shopping on the Internet is no less safe than shopping in a store� if online shoppers do enough preparation to protect themselves.
Use secure browsers, which are the software that online consumers use to navigate the Interne, and can protect consumers. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is kind of secure browsers that standards scramble the purchase information consumers send over the internet, helping to secure their shopping transaction.
Most of the online shoppers paid by credit or charge card online, however, Fair Credit Billing Act can protect online consumer for doing online shopping process. According the Federal Trade Commission“under the law of Fair Credit Billing Act, consumers have the right to dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily with hold payment while creditor is investigating them.�
In fact, the government also has some policy to protect the online consumers. Like The Australian Government's One-Stop-Shop for Consumer Protection in Australia, which provides information on making complaints about goods and services purchased in Australia and overseas, product safety and recalls, plus many links to online consumer resources. The Australian Consumers Handbook also provides over 730 private, community and government organisations that offer complaint handling services to consumers.
Furthermore, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has an Online Shopping Checklist which can help online consumer protect themselves before shop in the cyberspace.
Not only government and some associations help to protect consumers shop in cyberspace, also, online consumers should protect themselves, keep a record of the purchase order and confirmation, and keep the passwords private is very important for do online shopping. Moreover, online shopper should ask fro a paper catalog or brochure before shop in the Internet, to get more detail of their online shops and online services.
Federal Trade Commision (2004) ‘Shop Online Safely’, [Online] Available: Link [Accessed March 2004].
Google (2004), Carlos A. Primo Braga (2004) “E-Commerce Regulation: New Game, New Rules?� retrieved April 2004, from Link
Seniors shopping (2004) ‘Online Shopping & Consumer Protection’, [Online] Available: Link.
Next sub-topic--Online Consumer Advocacy
Leung Sum Yee 14:31, 20 Oct 2004 (EST)
E-commerce_and_the_Law
