Public Workshop: U.S. Perspectives on Consumer Protection in the Global Electronic Marketplace

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Public Workshop: U.S. Perspectives on Consumer Protection in the

Global Electronic Marketplace

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Initial Notice Requesting Academic Papers and Public Comment

and Announcing Public Workshop.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission plans to hold a public workshop

to examine U.S. perspectives on consumer protection in the global

electronic marketplace, and seeks academic papers and public comment to

inform this examination.

DATES: Papers and written comments are requested to be submitted on or

before February 26, 1999. The workshop will be held during the spring

of 1999.

ADDRESSES: Six hard copies of each paper and written comment should be

submitted to: Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-159, 600

Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580. Comments should be

captioned ``U.S. Perspectives on Consumer Protection in the Global

Electronic Marketplace--Comment, P994312.''

Form and Availability of Comments: To enable prompt review and

accessibility to the public, papers and comments also should be

submitted, if possible, in electronic form, on either one 5-1/4 or one

3-1/2 inch computer disk, with a disk label stating the name of the

submitter and the name and version of the word processing program used

to create the document. (Programs based on DOS or Windows are

preferred. Files from other operating systems should be submitted in

ASCII text format.)

Papers and written comments will be available for public inspection

in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552,

and Commission regulations, 16 C.F.R. Part 4.9, on normal business days

between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at Room 130, Federal Trade

Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The

Commission will make this notice and, to the extent possible, all

papers or comments received in response to this notice available to the

public through the Internet at the following address: http://

www.ftc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The exact dates, location, and

information about public participation in the workshop will be

announced later by Federal Register notice. For questions about this

request for academic papers and comments, contact either: Lisa

Rosenthal, Legal Advisor for International Consumer Protection,

Division of Planning and Information, Bureau of Consumer Protection,

Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20580, telephone 202-326-2249, e-mail [email protected]; or

Jonathan Smollen, Attorney, Division of Financial Practices, Bureau of

Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580, telephone 202-326-3457, e-mail

[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The number of direct, international business-to-consumer

transactions involving electronic commerce is expected to increase

significantly in the future. Global networks have the potential to

offer consumers substantial

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benefits, including convenience and access to a wide range of goods,

services, and information at lower cost. But these benefits cannot be

realized fully until consumers develop confidence in commercial

activities conducted over global networks and businesses are assured of

a stable and predictable commercial environment. Accordingly, the

present challenge is to encourage the development of a global

marketplace that offers safety, transparency, and legal certainty. The

Federal Trade Commission, by seeking public comment and holding a

public workshop, aims to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on how

government, industry, and consumers can work together to meet this

important challenge.

Invitation to Comment

Interested parties, including academics, industry members, consumer

advocates, and government representatives, are requested to submit

academic papers or written comments on any issue of fact, law, or

policy that may inform the Commission's examination of U.S.

perspectives on consumer protection in the global electronic

marketplace. Because U.S. perspectives on these issues should be

informed by international approaches, comments should not be limited to

examinations of domestic laws or policies. Please provide copies of any

studies, surveys, research, or other empirical data referenced in

responses.

The questions set forth below are intended only as examples of the

issues relevant to the Commission's examination. Submitters are invited

to comment on any relevant issue, regardless of whether it is

identified below.

General

1. What current protections exist for consumers engaged in

electronic commerce with foreign businesses?

a. To what extent to do current protections vary by sector or

context?

b. To what extent do protections for consumers in the traditional

marketplace apply to consumer transactions in the global electronic

marketplace?

2. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices provide effective protection for consumers engaged in

electronic commerce with foreign businesses? To what extent do they

need to be modified?

3. To the extent that existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices need to be modified to provide effective protection for

consumers engaged in electronic commerce with foreign businesses:

a. How should such modifications vary according to industry sector

or context?

b. How would such modifications affect law enforcement actions by

government agencies?

c. How would such modifications affect business-to-business

transactions?

d. How would such modifications affect the development of the

global electronic marketplace as a whole?

4. What efforts to examine consumer protection in the global

electronic marketplace are already underway by private or public

entities at the international, national, state, or local levels? What

is the status of such efforts?

Conflicts of Law

5. When a consumer engages in electronic commerce with a foreign

business, which laws govern the transaction?

a. How is that determined?

b. Which choice of law would best facilitate commerce and provide

effective consumer protection?

c. Under what circumstances should a consumer and a foreign

business be able to contractually agree on the governing law?

d. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices affecting choice of law need to be modified?

6. When a consumer engages in electronic commerce with a foreign

business, which court system or systems may adjudicate disputes arising

from the transaction?

a. How is that determined?

b. Which forum choice would best facilitate commerce and provide

effective consumer protection?

c. Under what circumstances should a consumer and a foreign

business be able to contractually agree on the adjudicating court

system?

d. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices affecting jurisdiction need to be modified?

7. If a consumer were to obtain a judgment against a foreign

business, under what circumstances would that judgment be recognized by

a court system in another country?

a. Under what circumstances would the judgment be recognized if it

had been obtained by a government agency acting on behalf of wronged

consumers?

b. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices affecting judgment recognition need to be modified?

8. To what extent do existing U.S. federal and state laws need to

be reconciled with each other and with laws in other countries to

provide effective protection for consumers engaged in electronic

commerce with foreign businesses?

Electronic Contracts

9. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices governing contracts provide effective protection for

consumers engaged in electronic commerce with foreign businesses? To

what extent do they need to be modified?

10. Given that electronic communications do not allow for

traditional written signatures, under what circumstances should

electronic signatures (or other technological means for a party to

express intent to be bound) be legally recognized and binding?

11. How should the burden of proof and risk of loss be allocated

with respect to potentially fraudulent uses of electronic signatures?

International Requirements

12. What are the minimum protections that should be available to

consumers in the global electronic marketplace?

a. To what extent are businesses required to provide disclosures to

consumers? To what extent should they be?

b. To what extent are mechanisms in place that enable consumers to

complain about the practices of foreign businesses? To what extent

should there be?

c. To what extent is there a time period during which consumers can

rescind agreements entered into with foreign businesses (also referred

to as a ``cooling-off period'')? To what extent should there be?

d. To what extent are there mechanisms in place that enable harmed

consumers to obtain redress from foreign businesses? To what extent

should there be?

e. Under what circumstances and to what extent are consumers using

electronic payment methods, i.e. credit, debit, or stored-value cards,

entitled to have their accounts credited (also referred to as ``charge-

backs'')? To what extent should they be?

f. To what extent is there a need for uniform consumer protection

requirements or harmonized consumer protection laws?

13. To what extent is there a need for international dispute

resolution procedures or tribunals for consumers engaged in electronic

commerce with foreign businesses?

Law Enforcement Agencies

14. What is the proper role for law enforcement agencies in

providing

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effective protection for consumers engaged in global electronic

commerce?

15. To what extent do private actions provide effective protection

for consumers engaged in electronic commerce with foreign businesses?

16. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices with respect to the sharing of information among law

enforcement agencies in different countries provide effective

protection for consumers engaged in global electronic commerce? To what

extent do they need to be modified?

17. To what extent do existing laws, conventions, treaties, or

practices with respect to the coordination of law enforcement

activities between different countries provide effective protection for

consumers engaged in global electronic commerce? To what extent do they

need to be modified?

18. To what extent is there a need for international dispute

resolution procedures or tribunals for law enforcement agencies seeking

to protect consumers engaged in electronic commerce with foreign

businesses?

Consumer and Business Education

19. What steps have been, and should be, taken to educate consumers

about the global electronic marketplace?

20. What steps have been, and should be, taken to educate business

about consumer protection in the global electronic marketplace?

Industry Members

21. How does the provision of effective protection for consumers in

the global electronic marketplace benefit industry members?

22. How does the provision of effective protection for consumers in

the global electronic marketplace present challenges to industry

members?

23. To what extent do/will the benefits and challenges industry

members experience with respect to consumer protection in the global

electronic marketplace differ from those experienced in the traditional

marketplace?

24. To what extent do/will industry-led self-regulatory programs

provide effective protection for consumers in the global electronic

marketplace?

Development of the Global Electronic Marketplace

25. How much and how quickly will electronic commerce grow over the

next five years?

a. What developments will spur its growth?

b. What developments will hinder its growth?

26. How will electronic commerce change over the next five years?

a. What will be the demographics of consumers and businesses

engaged in electronic commerce?

b. What types of products and services will be sold electronically?

27. To what extent do/will new marketing techniques made possible

by technological developments affect consumer protection?

28. To what extent do/will technological developments enable

consumers to protect themselves?

Workshop

29. What should be the primary focus and scope of the Commission's

initial public workshop on ``U.S. Perspectives on Consumer Protection

in the Global Electronic Marketplace?''

30. Which interests should be represented at the Commission's

initial public workshop on ``U.S. Perspectives on Consumer Protection

in the Global Electronic Marketplace?''

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-33281 Filed 12-15-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750-01-P