Legal regulation of electronic commerce

Swindells, C. and Henderson, K. (1998) Legal regulation of electronic commerce. Journal of Information, Law and Technology, 1998 (3). ISSN 1361-4169 (https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/19...)

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Abstract

Electronic commerce is a new technology which is growing rapidly. It has the ability to create a truly global digital economy, but at present current legislation does not encourage the uptake of this technology. The nature of the Internet and the globalisation of the world economy mean that developments in electronic commerce create legal problems concerning security of transactions and legal jurisdiction of transactions. The growth of electronic commerce has made current and future legal requirements difficult to assess. In order for electronic commerce to develop these issues have to be addressed on an international level. This paper attempts to highlight the problems of legislating electronic commerce. The role of the United States, European Union and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in formulating legal policy is discussed. The legal position regarding digital signatures, certificate authorities and trusted third parties are addressed as, is the issue of data protection.