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e-Policy Resources
E-Commerce Policies
Electronic commerce is essentially traditional commerce carried out by
means of information and communications technologies (ICTs). Items can
be bought and sold using the Internet, hand-held electronic devices (e.g.
cell phone), credit cards, the telephone, television, fax machine, etc.
Electronic commerce over the Internet offers explosive growth potential:
businesses are able to interact not only with suppliers, but also with
consumers world-wide; consumers have access to potentially unlimited global
array of products and services; and citizens can access governments directly.
Global by nature, it also facilitates trade. E-commerce is an important
opportunity for developing countries to increase their participation in
the world economy and enhance their economic and social welfare.
The following section provides an overview of Canada’s domestic
and international approach and resources to electronic commerce policy
and strategy.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESOURCES
Canada’s World-Leading E-Commerce Policy Environment
Electronic commerce is relatively new. Developed countries started to
develop their electronic commerce (e-com) strategy in 1997-98. Canada
has a world leading e-com policy environment, which is based on sound
domestic policies and strong leadership in the international/multilateral
forums (such as the WTO, OECD, APEC and FTAA) thus, ensuring consistency
among global e-com policy approaches.
In September 1998, the government of Canada released the Canadian
Electronic Commerce Strategy to encourage the development and use
of electronic commerce. Developed in consultation with the federal, provincial
and territorial governments, the private sector, consumers and public
interest groups, the strategy sets forth the challenges and opportunities,
the priority issues and an action plan. It is based on the recognition
that the private sector has a key role in developing and expanding electronic
commerce in Canada. The Government’s role is to provide a supportive
and responsive policy environment for business and consumers. As such,
the Canadian strategy addresses the following four key challenges:
1. Building Trust in Electronic Markets: Privacy, Security & Consumer
Confidence
- Cryptography – October 1998, the government of Canada announced
Canada’s
Cryptography Policy, which sets the rules for the use of cryptographic
technologies in Canada and Canada’s international obligations.
These technologies provide a foundation for establishing trust in electronic
commerce because they safeguard information, protect communications
and authenticate parties to transactions. Authentication
is important to building trust because it can be used to identify participants
in electronic communications and confirm that the information exchanged
has not been altered. Since May 2001, the government has been working
with the private sector, consumer groups and some provinces to define
how authentication and certification services should develop in Canada.
A set of high-level marketplace principles has been developed to guide
the use of authentication services in Canada.
- Privacy – April 2000, Bill C-6, Personal
Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Part
1. Part 1 of Canada’s PIPEDA is a law to protect all personal
information collected, used or disclosed by private sector organizations
in the course of commercial activity.
- Consumer protection – November 1999, the government endorsed
the Principles
of Consumer Protection for Electronic Commerce for the protection
of consumers shopping on-line. The principles were developed by the
Working Group on Electronic Commerce and Consumers, a multi-stakeholder
group composed of representatives of different industry sectors and
consumers. In January 2004, the working group released the Canadian
Code for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, which establishes
good business practice benchmarks for merchants conducting commercial
activities with consumers on line.
2. Clarifying Rules for the Digital Marketplace: Legal, Policy &
Regulatory Frameworks
- E-Signature – April 2000, Bill C-6, Personal
Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Parts 2 to
5. Parts 2 to 5 of PIPEDA recognize the use of electronic documents
and signatures in government as legal alternatives to original documents
and signatures. These parts enable federal departments, agencies and
boards to offer Canadians an electronic alternative for doing business
with federal institutions.
- Tax neutrality – April 1998, following recommendations of its
private sector committee on e-commerce, the Prime Minister of Canada
stated Canada’s commitment to a technology-neutral approach to
electronic commerce taxation which avoids Internet-specific taxes.
3. Strengthening Information Infrastructure: Networks and Technologies
for E-Business
- Standards – March 1999, the Telecommunications Standards Advisory
Council of Canada (TSACC) approved a Standards
Framework for Electronic Commerce, which establishes the reference
point for future standards work by government and the private sector
at the domestic and international levels. Covering the infrastructure,
applications and business process components of e-commerce standards,
the Framework underlines the importance of strengthening Canada’s
presence in the global standards’ process.
4. Realizing the Benefits: Effective Adoption and Use
- Public Key Infrastructure – May 1999, Policy
for Public Key Infrastructure Management in the Government of Canada
(Government PKI Policy). PKI enables the government of Canada to proceed
with secure electronic commerce within government, with external clients
and the general public. As government services and federal programs
are increasingly being delivered on-line (Government On-Line), the use
of PKI is critically important.
In October of 1998, Canada hosted the first ever OECD
Ministerial Conference on Electronic Commerce. Ministers adopted
a global action plan that set the course for future work in such areas
as consumer protection, privacy and authentication and taxation. Each
country was encouraged to continue to pursue its domestic policy independently
in these areas keeping in mind the baseline principals and goals adopted
at the conference. The Conference conclusions outline a shared vision
for global electronic commerce, the commitments and priorities of each
party to implement that vision, and next steps.
Each year, since 1999, the Canadian
E-Business Opportunities Roundtable, now known as the Canadian
e-Business Initiative (CeBI) has released a series of reports: Net
Impact Study and Fast Forward. These reports provide an overview of
the current state of adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in Canada and identify
areas for improvement. Both have led to business and government developing
favorable policies and strategies to further the adoption and effective
use of e-com. CeBI is a voluntary private sector-led initiative providing
advice to the government.
Trade Facilitation
- Trade facilitation aims at sharing the benefits of e-commerce amongst
all economies, regardless of their level of development. Canada is very
active in promoting trade facilitation initiatives in intergovernmental
organizations such as UNCTAD, APEC, UN/CEFACT or the World Customs Organization
(WCO) where the simplification and harmonization of trade procedures
is being addressed. Best practices for international business, procedures
for facilitating trade, the development of norms and standards are part
of the trade facilitation work and contribute to a secure open trade
environment.
Emerging Issues
- Unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam): Spam
is an issue that relates to consumer and business confidence. Recent
reports have predicted that by the end of 2004, Spam, often offensive,
will constitute as much as 70% of global e-mails. The economic cost
of spam, to the Internet carriage industry, to businesses using electronic
communications and to individual users is alarming.
Industry Canada is currently working with stakeholders to develop a
joint industry-government action plan to curtail spam in Canada. The
Canadian approach is based on the growing consensus that laws alone
will not reduce the volume on unsolicited e-mail. Canada is also involved
in various international fora, such as OECD and APEC to develop a common
understanding of the issue and develop common approaches.
- Identity theft and Phishing: Identity
theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of
crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's
personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically
for economic gain.
Although identity theft is not a new problem, it is of particular concern
in the electronic environment where considerable amounts of personal
information may be passed or transmitted, collected and retained by
organizations.
Phishing attacks use “spoofed” e-mails and fraudulent websites
designed to fool recipients into divulging personal information such
as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social insurance
numbers, etc. By “impersonating” the trusted brands of well-known
banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers try to convince
recipients to respond to them and provide them with the personal information
necessary to do financial transactions fraudulently or for identity
theft.
ADDITIONAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESOURCES
(alphabetical order)
Authentication
Electronic Commerce
E-Signature
- Electronic Commerce Secretariat, Department of Justice Canada http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/ec/index.html
- Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) in drafting the Uniform Electronic
Commerce Act (UECA). The UECA is similar to Part 2 of the Personal Information
Protection and Electronic Documents Act, in authorizing governments
to use electronic technology to deliver services and communicate with
citizens.
http://www.law.ualberta.ca/alri/ulc/eindex.htm
Government On-Line
Privacy
Public Key Infrastructure
Standards
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