[Federal Register: December 16, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 241)]
[Notices]
[Page 69289-69291]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16de98-66]
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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 lrosenthal@ftc.gov; 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
jsmollen@ftc.gov.
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