I. E - COMMERCE

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown dramatically since the spread of the Internet. A wide variety of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.
A small percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for "virtual" items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is known as e-tail. E-commerce or electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business.
If we want to define a term e – commerce we can choose between various definitions. According WTO it is “production, distribution, marketing, selling and expedition of goods and services by using of electronical measures.”
According the Commission that formulates and regulates international trade in cooperation with the World Trade Organisation – UNCITRAL it means „any information in form of data message used in context of commercial activities.”
OECD defines an e-commerce as „an electronic transaction is the sale or purchase of goods or services, whether between businesses, households, individuals, governments, and other public or private organisations, conducted over computermediated networks. The goods and services are ordered over those networks, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the good or setrvice may be conducted on or off-line.“
Finally European Commission says that e – commerce „ is based on the electronically processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and video. It encompasses activities such as: electronic trading of goods and services, on-line delivering of digital content, e- fund transfer, e- share trading, e- bills of lading, commercial auctions, direct consumer marketing.” Promoting the development of electronic commerce is one of the key factors in the effort to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. Directive 2000/31/EC on Electronic Commerce created the basic legal framework for electronic commerce in the Internal Market. The Directive removes obstacles to cross-border online services in the European Union and provides legal certainty to business and citizens alike. The Electronic Commerce Directive dates back to 8 June 2000 but the Member States were given time to implement it into their national laws. The objective of the EC Directive was to ensure that information society services (what nowadays would be called e-commerce) would be able to benefit from the internal market principles of free movement of services and freedom of establishment, and to make it unlawful for EU Member States to erect any legal barriers to cross-border trade or establishment.
The Directive includes:
• Requirements regarding the role of national trading standards and consumer protection authorities;
• Transparency requirements for web advertising;
• Principles relating to contracting online;
• Limitations to the liability of internet intermediaries; and
Requirements regarding disclosure of any codes of conduct, such as for online dispute settlement, by which the service provider is bound.
The Directive covers information society services (i.e. services normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by means of electronic equipment for the processing and storage of data and at the individual request of a recipient of a service), both business to business and business to consumer, including services provided free of charge to the recipient (e.g. funded by advertising or sponsorship revenue) and services allowing for online electronic transactions, such as interactive online shopping.
Examples of sectors and activities covered include:
• online newspapers;
• online databases;
• online financial services;
• online professional services;
• online entertainment services;
• online direct marketing and advertising of goods as well as services; and
• services providing access to the internet.

The chief aim of the Directive is to ensure that the European Community reaps the full benefits of e-commerce by boosting consumer confidence and giving providers of information society services legal certainty, without excessive red tape. This is in line with the Community's policy of promoting e-commerce. In principle it guarantees the same law should apply throughout the European Community's Member States, and also extends to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as part of the European Economic Area (EEA).

II. CONSUMER

We can define a consumer as a one that consumes, especially one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing. Article 2 e) of the Directive 2000/31/EC defines the consumer as any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his or her trade, business or profession.

III. CONSUMER PROTECTION

Consumer protection means actions taken (sometimes in the form of laws) to protect consumers from defective goods and services.

The lack of consumer protection on the Internet is one of the core issues that limits the growth of electronic commerce. As we all know, the role of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in society is growing. The explosion of the global electronic commerce web has made it easy, quick, and painless to transmit all kinds of digitized data. This new cross-boarder platform eliminates some of the constraints of geography, time, and place. This unprecedented growth has spurred the development of all kinds of new information-based products and services at the same time as existing services are being transformed to use electric commerce to save costs -- for example, mail order houses placing their catalogues online.
The overwhelming amount of information available has the potential to influence commercial sales both online and offline by allowing consumers access to compare product information, and from the point of view of the business owners targets marketing and services to the user. Though all this potential exists, users are still not buying most consumer products online. Instead, most consumers choose to reach the product's cost and availability, and compare features, advantages, and benefits online, then buy using traditional means, (phone, fax, retail outlet).
Making the transition to true Internet commerce, however, raises questions about the accuracy of the information, the validity of forming contacts to the web, and to whom one complains when something goes wrong. Direct business-to-consumer commerce will only come to fruition when the value outweighs the perceived risks. What people really need is an assurance that the electronic marketplace provides safe and predictable place for them to shop.
Technological advances are driving the growth of the Internet, in both hardware software networks. It is becoming easier to get on the web from more outlets than ever before. Consumers are relying on the convenience that technology adds to their lives. Because of closed network systems, such as automatic bill paying and automatic teller machines, consumers are becoming accustomed to using these services and features.
Direct business-to-consumer electronic commerce will not become as commonplace as using the shopping mall until e-commerce is safe and predictable. Consumer laws, policies, and practices that exist offline are attempting to find a technological equivalent in the online world, including unfair or misleading claims. Offline consumer protection rules that govern transactions are guided through a complex layered system of federal and state laws. Both business and consumers alike have to be aware of the consumer protection rules that apply to their transactions. In the offline world, consumer protection laws cover the rules that exist for the residence of the consumer. But in the online arena, a product is on sale to the world. Therefore, this makes it impossible to know where the purchaser is unless that information is provided -- hence, the applicable consumer protection laws.

Currently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the forum where a multilateral discussion exists on consumer protection and e-commerce. The Directorate of Science and Technology's Committee on Consumer Policy has developed a Declaration on Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce that was finalized at the 55th negotiating session, September 3-4 of 1999, in Paris. The declaration was presented at the Ottawa Ministerial, "A Borderless World: Realizing the Potential of Global Electronic Commerce," October 7-8.
The Consumer Protection Committee decided to state in the declaration that in building a framework for consumer protection, it is best not to search for the same level of protection as exists in the offline world but for an effective level of protection. The key here is that the Internet might require a higher level of protection in order for people to feel comfortable using the information, or lower if technology can assist in delivering information. For example, you have purchased a software product by downloading it from the web, as opposed to purchasing it retail. What happens if the software turns out not compatible, not functional, or, worse, ends up damaging your computer's programs?
It is clear that the Internet and electronic commerce are going to play an increasing role in the lives of people around the world. Therefore, it is essential that more people should be made to feel comfortable shopping online and providing some level of consumer protection maybe a way to aid in this process.

Core Consumer Protection Principles in Electronic Commerce according OECD

The global nature and unique characteristics of electronic commerce (e-commerce) require governments and businesses to consider new approaches to consumer protection. The immediacy of transactions, the remoteness of buyer and seller, and the difficulty of authenticating the parties challenge attempts to tailor consumer protections enacted for the "physical marketplace" to fit the new "virtual marketplace."

Establishing minimum standards for conduct in e-commerce will foster consumer confidence, fair competition, and economic development around the world. Therefore, the TACD (Trans atlantic consumer dialogue - is a forum of US and EU consumer organisations which develops and agrees joint consumer policy recommendations to the US government and European Union to promote the consumer interest in EU and US policy making.) urges the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to complete and adopt its "Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce" by the end of 1999, taking into account the core consumer protection principles listed below.

Furthermore, the TACD urges other organizations of countries, as well as countries individually, to include in their guidelines, frameworks or legislative proposals on e-commerce these core consumer protection principles:

1. Consumers should have transparent and effective protections that are at least at the same level as those afforded in other forms of commerce;

2. Businesses should disclose their legal names and physical locations, and provide consumers with an easy means of contacting them, both online and offline;

3. Marketing material should be clearly identified as such in any electronic format in which it is conveyed;

4. Information about the businesses, the products or services they offer, and the terms of the transactions, including price, delivery, payment, taxes, cost of transportation, duties, etc., should be stated in a clear, conspicuous, accurate and easily accessible manner;

5. Businesses should not make any representations or omissions, or engage in any practices, that are likely to be unfair, deceptive or fraudulent;

6. Businesses should be able to substantiate any claims they make, express or implied;

7. Businesses should develop and implement methods by which consumers can confirm the decision to purchase or withdraw from a purchase before a transaction is completed. Consumers should have no liability for unintentional or erroneous transactions where the business failed to provide an adequate opportunity to correct the error;

8. Businesses should develop and implement methods by which consumers can receive confirmation of their purchases and retain records of the transactions.

9. Businesses must abide by any post-purchase cancellation rights that may be provided by self-regulatory guidelines and the law in consumers' jurisdictions;

10. Businesses should develop and implement methods to prevent identity theft and other frauds and verify that payment is being made by the authorized account holder. The burden of proof regarding authenticity should rest with the business and/or payment systems operator, as appropriate. Consumers should be responsible to notify the appropriate entity promptly once aware of possible theft or loss, and should have no liability for transactions they did not authorize;

11. Consumers' payment and other information that they provide to businesses should be secured from theft or abuse;

12. Consumers should have no liability to pay for products or services that were never delivered or were misrepresented. In those events, electronic payment methods should provide for "charge-back rights" and prompt return any payments made;

13. Businesses should develop and implement simple procedures for consumers to indicate that they do not wish to receive unsolicited electronic mails (e-mails) and honor their "do not e-mail" requests;

14. Consumers' privacy rights should be respected in accordance with the recognized principles set out in the 1980 OECD Guidelines Governing the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flow of Personal Data and taking into account the OECD Ministerial Declaration on the Protection of Privacy on Global Networks;

15. Consumers must have methods of redress that are practical, accessible, affordable, timely and enforceable no matter where businesses against whom they have complaints are located;

16. The countries in which consumers reside have the obligation to protect them in e-commerce and must guaranty that there are appropriate means for resolving consumers' disputes. Consumers should never be denied the protections and remedies afforded to them by the laws, rules and regulations of their respective jurisdictions.

In addition, the principles embodied in the TACD Electronic Commerce Working Group Resolutions and Declarations numbers one through seven, adopted on April 24, 1999, should be considered by the OECD and other organizations of countries, as well as individual countries, in the development of guidelines, frameworks or legislative proposals concerning electronic commerce.
The Guidelines are already proving to be an influential document. Private sector organisations (both business and consumer) are using the Guidelines as they develop their own set of merchant and consumer guidelines.
Governments are using the Guidelines as a benchmark when examining their national laws to ensure effective consumer protection on-line. And some have used the guidelines in developing their own national code and trustmark programs. For example in Australia the Guidelines formed the basis for our best practice model for business titled Building Consumer Sovereignty in Electronic Commerce - A best practice model for business. Still others have hosted workshops on the Guidelines to educate business and consumers in their respective countries on the importance of the implementation of the Guidelines for providing effective consumer protection in the on-line environment.
The Committee on Consumer Policy will continue to cooperate with business and consumer representatives, and all of civil society to ensure that the Guidelines are implemented effectively and help educate on-line consumers and business about their rights and responsibilities on-line. The CCP will also continue to foster the international dialogue on consumer protection issues, encouraging government, business and consumer representatives to work together and learn from eachother.
The impact of globalisation on consumers and consumer policy is at the heart of the activities of the OECD's work on consumer policy. The OECD has for many years been examining a number of issues directly related to cross-border consumer transactions, including ways to build trust and confidence on-line and to overcome existing barriers to a truly global marketplace.
By setting out the core characteristics of effective consumer protection for on-line business-to-consumer transactions, it is hoped the OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce will help eliminate some of the uncertainties that both consumers and business encounter when buying and selling on-line and ultimately assist on-line commerce in the global marketplace to reach its full potential.

Consumer Protection in European Union

E-commerce consumers should be no less protected when shopping on-line than when they buy from their local store or order from a catalogue. They should have complete and accurate information about the business, about the goods or services for sale and about how the transaction is made. What this means is that e-customers should know which business they are really dealing with. In article 5 of Directive 2000/31/EC on Electronic Commerce are defined general information to be provided:

In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure that the service provider1 shall render easily, directly and permanently accessible to the recipients of the service2 and competent authorities, at least the following information:
(a) the name of the service provider;
(b) the geographic address at which the service provider is established;
(c) the details of the service provider, including his electronic mail address, which allow him to be contacted rapidly and communicated with in a direct and effective manner;
(d) where the service provider is registered in a trade or similar public register, the trade register in which the service provider is entered and his registration number, or equivalent means of identification in that register;
(e) where the activity is subject to an authorisation scheme, the particulars of the relevant supervisory authority;
(f) as concerns the regulated professions3:
- any professional body or similar institution with which the service provider is registered,
- the professional title and the Member State where it has been granted,
- a reference to the applicable professional rules in the Member State of establishment and the means to access them;

Informations to be provided in commercial communications4 are following:

In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure that commercial communications which are part of, or constitute, an information society service comply at least with the following conditions:
(a) the commercial communication shall be clearly identifiable as such;
(b) the natural or legal person on whose behalf the commercial communication is made shall be clearly identifiable;
(c) promotional offers, such as discounts, premiums and gifts, where permitted in the Member State where the service provider is established, shall be clearly identifiable as such, and the conditions which are to be met to qualify for them shall be easily accessible and be presented clearly and unambiguously;
(d) promotional competitions or games, where permitted in the Member State where the service provider is established, shall be clearly identifiable as such, and the conditions for participation shall be easily accessible and be presented clearly and unambiguously.
In addition to other requirements established by Community law, Member States which permit unsolicited commercial communication by electronic mail shall ensure that such commercial communication by a service provider established in their territory shall be identifiable clearly and unambiguously as such as soon as it is received by the recipient.(Article 7, 1)

Although trading over the Internet is often seen as a more informal way of doing business, the same rules apply as with the formation of other types of contract. The issue can be confused by the fact that in e-commerce the trader and customer are never face to face and are sometimes in different countries.
The EU has established a minimum level of consumer protection for the purchase of goods in the single market. Article 9 of Directive on Electronic Commerce mentiones treatment of contracts:

1. Member States shall ensure that their legal system allows contracts to be concluded by electronic means. Member States shall in particular ensure that the legal requirements applicable to the contractual process neither create obstacles for the use of electronic contracts nor result in such contracts being deprived of legal effectiveness and validity on account of their having been made by electronic means.
2. Member States may lay down that paragraph 1 shall not apply to all or certain contracts falling into one of the following categories:
(a) contracts that create or transfer rights in real estate, except for rental rights;
(b) contracts requiring by law the involvement of courts, public authorities or professions exercising public authority;
(c) contracts of suretyship granted and on collateral securities furnished by persons acting for purposes outside their trade, business or profession;
(d) contracts governed by family law or by the law of succession.
3. Member States shall indicate to the Commission the categories referred to in paragraph 2 to which they do not apply paragraph 1. Member States shall submit to the Commission every five years a report on the application of paragraph 2 explaining the reasons why they consider it necessary to maintain the category referred to in paragraph 2(b)to which they do not apply paragraph1.

Information to be provided
1. In addition to other information requirements established by Community law, Member States shall ensure, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, that at least the following information is given by the service provider clearly, comprehensibly and unambiguously and prior to the order being placed by the recipient of the service:
(a) the different technical steps to follow to conclude the contract;
(b) whether or not the concluded contract will be filed by the service provider and whether it will be accessible;
(c) the technical means for identifying and correcting input errors prior to the placing of the order;
(d) the languages offered for the conclusion of the contract.
2. Member States shall ensure that, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, the service provider indicates any relevant codes of conduct to which he subscribes and information on how those codes can be consulted electronically.
3. Contract terms and general conditions provided to the recipient must be made available in a way that allows him to store and reproduce them.
4. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.

For the consumer placing of the order is very important:
1. Member States shall ensure, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, that in cases where the recipient of the service places his order through technological means, the following principles apply:
- the service provider has to acknowledge the receipt of the recipient's order without undue delay and by electronic means,
- the order and the acknowledgement of receipt are deemed to be received when the parties to whom they are addressed are able to access them.
2. Member States shall ensure that, except when otherwise agreed by parties who are not consumers, the service provider makes available to the recipient of the service appropriate, effective and accessible technical means allowing him to identify and correct input errors, prior to the placing of the order.
3. Paragraph 1, first indent, and paragraph 2 shall not apply to contracts concluded exclusively by exchange of electronic mail or by equivalent individual communications.

Legislation of EU stipulates that the supplier must sell goods that comply with their description, match the quality of samples or models, have the same quality and performance characteristics of such goods, and are fit for any purpose accepted by the supplier.

The consumer has two years from the delivery date to seek redress for faults demonstrably present at the time of delivery, in goods which should have lasted for this length of time.

Distance Selling Regulations apply to contracts concluded when the supplier and purchaser are not physically present in the same place at the same time. This covers email and Internet contracts, as well as contracts resulting from press advertisements, mail order catalogues or those made by telephone. The Distance Selling Regulations 2000 only apply to transactions between businesses and consumers (individuals acting outside the course of their business) and do not include business-to-business contracts and auctions.

Under the Regulations, consumers have the right to:
• details in writing about the supplier and the terms of the transaction
• written confirmation of their orders
• further information, including a notice of cancellation rights, the complaints procedure, after-sales services and guarantees
• delivery within 30 days unless otherwise agreed
Consumers have a cooling-off period of seven working days in which to cancel the contract, starting from when the goods are received, without having to give a reason. If no details of the cooling-off period have been given by the supplier to the consumer, it is extended to three months.
The right to withdraw can be exercised by the consumer even after the goods have been delivered, or the services have been provided. The consumer is entitled to receive a full refund for a cancelled contract within 30 days.
There are some exceptions to these rights of cancellation, including:
• contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services, where these services are supplied on a specific date or for a specific period
• the sale of customised goods or perishable goods
• sealed audio or video recordings, or software, which has been opened
• sales by auction

As use of the Internet increases, so do the number of service providers engaged in activities intended to allow transmission, storage or access to information over the Internet. The experience of the late 1990s indicated that these service providers could be exposed to liability or the possibility of prosecution, in the event that the information was found to be of an illegal nature, even if they only played a passive role in allowing access to, storage or the transmission of the information.
Jurisdictions around the world recognised this possibility as a serious disincentive to individuals to provide such services. It was also recognised that these services are essential for the continued growth of the information economy.

As a result, the European Union introduced provisions to limit the liability of intermediary service providers. These provisions are contained in Directive 2000/31/EC on Electronic Commerce in Section 4. They are in line with the internationally adopted approach to liability and were intended to ensure that firms offering eCommerce services in the community would be afforded a high level of protection in these circumstances.

Mere conduit is described as a service that consists of the transmission of information in a communications network of information provided by the recipient of the service. The ‘recipients of the service’ are taken to include persons who place information on-line as well as persons who access or retrieve such information.
1.Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information transmitted, on condition that the provider:
(a) does not initiate the transmission;
(b) does not select the receiver of the transmission; and
(c) does not select or modify the information contained in the transmission.
2. The acts of transmission and of provision of access referred to in paragraph 1 include the automatic, intermediate and transient storage of the information transmitted in so far as this takes place for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission in the communication network, and provided that the information is not stored for any period longer than is reasonably necessary for the transmission.
3. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Member States' legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement.

In computer science, a cache is a collection of data duplicating original values stored elsewhere or computed earlier, where the original data is expensive to fetch (due to longer access time) or to compute, compared to the cost of reading the cache. In other words, a cache is a temporary storage area where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access. Once the data is stored in the cache, future use can be made by accessing the cached copy rather than re-fetching or recomputing the original data, so that the average access time is shorter. Cache, therefore, helps expedite data access that the CPU would otherwise need to fetch from main memory. The main purpose behind this regulation is to give protection to businesses which cache copies of sites in the provision of their access services. The service provider will not be liable in damages (or other remedy or criminal sanction) where the caching is "automatic, intermediate and temporary for the sole purpose of providing a more efficient service".
Further, the service provider must not modify the information and must comply with all access conditions imposed with regard to the site. This in itself means that it may be difficult to fall within this exception.

For example, many website copyright notices provide that the information may not be stored in an electronic retrieval system – which, on the face of it, precludes being cached by ISPs for the provision of a more efficient service. Obviously, whilst it will not be in most websites' interests to prevent ISPs from doing this, it nonetheless makes it difficult for the ISP to have complied with the strict obligations under the regulation.
The industry rules on updating are not specified in the Regulation. The most important point under this is that in order to avoid any liability for unlawful material, the service provider must, as soon as it has actual knowledge that the initial source has been removed or access to it has been disabled, ensure that the site is deleted from its cache.
The Regulation state that for the purposes of determining whether a service provider has "actual knowledge" a court should consider whether notice was given to the service provider via the contact options on its site and the extent to which that notice includes the full name and address of the sender of the notice, the details of the location of the information in question and details of the unlawful nature of the activity or information in question.

In case of hosting:
1. Where an information society service is provided that consists of the storage of information provided by a recipient of the service, Member States shall ensure that the service provider is not liable for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service, on condition that:
(a) the provider does not have actual knowledge of illegal activity or information and, as regards claims for damages, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or information is apparent; or
(b) the provider, upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the information.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when the recipient of the service is acting under the authority or the control of the provider.
3. This Article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Member States' legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement, nor does it affect the possibility for Member States of establishing procedures governing the removal or disabling of access to information.

The exception applies in respect of any information which is stored by a service provider where that information has been provided to the service provider by someone using the service.
In such circumstances, the service provider will not be liable where it does not have actual knowledge of unlawful material (see the test above) and, where a claim for damages is made, is not aware of fact or circumstances from which it would have been apparent to the service provider that the activity or information was unlawful.
This means that, whilst there is no obligation to monitor the contents of a web site, a service provider should not merely turn a blind eye. This is particularly important when it is borne in mind that this is the one exception to the defence in criminal proceedings. The Regulations provide that the service provider cannot rely on the fact that it did not have constructive knowledge as a defence. Once again, the service provider must act immediately upon gaining knowledge that the material is unlawful by either removing or disabling access to the material.
Finally, the person who has posted the material must not be under the authority or control of the service provider.

The E-commerce Directive states that Member States must not impose a general obligation on service providers to monitor the information which they transmit or store. It is normally accepted that if you do monitor the content on your servers then you are at greater risk as you will be treated as a publisher of that information.

Shopping online opens up a world of opportunity, convenience, choice, competitive prices and information. It may also raise some practical questions and concerns. What will happen if something goes wrong with your purchase? What if you don’t get the products you ordered? What if they arrive damaged? What can you do?
The EU single market and the prospect of electronic commerce mean that consumers have the more opportunities to buy goods and services from outside their home country. Consumers, regulators and responsible manufacturers have a common interest in ensuring that those consumers have an effective means of redress when they are dissatisfied with their purchase.
An unhappy consumer wants a replacement or a refund, not litigation. The vast majority of complaints never go to court. What is needed is easy communication from consumer to company and a third party to help when the company is slow to reply. This is a perfect role for self-regulation. Such a system as outlined in the proposed directive on e-commerce could be a multi-language on-line system for handling consumer complaints.
In support of the common objective of consumer protection attention has focused on the issue of legal redress: in this respect there are two schools of thought:
• Electronic commerce should be legislated for based on the principle of country of destination. (This is also referred to as the country of reception or habitual residence).
• Electronic commerce should be legislated for based on the principle of country of origin, that is providers of goods and services are regulated in the country where they are established. (This is also referred to as mutual recognition).

But, it is wrong to believe that one or other of these legal bases is the route to consumer redress. The debate on country of origin/destination is of little relevance to the common objective of consumer protection. Even for the tiny minority of consumers who need recourse to the courts there is no significant difference between country of origin and country of destination in the EU.

Firstly, when the consumer and seller are in different countries there will always be additional complications in jurisdiction. Consumers are entitled today to bring an action either:
• in the courts in which the seller is situated
• or in the courts in their own country in which case they must apply to the courts in the country of the seller for enforcement of the judgement.
Nothing in the choice of country of origin/ destination would alter this situation. Secondly, there are no significant differences in the quality of consumer protection in member states. In many cases (distance selling, product liability, comparative advertising, misleading advertising) these laws have already been harmonised. There are no grounds to believe that a consumer in one member state would receive a lower standard of protection in the courts of any other.
So, the country of destination legal base is at best neutral to real consumer protection but it has a number of negative effects.

Out-of-court dispute settlement
1. Member States shall ensure that, in the event of disagreement between an information society service provider and the recipient of the service, their legislation does not hamper the use of out-of-court schemes, available under national law, for dispute settlement, including appropriate electronic means.
2. Member States shall encourage bodies responsible for the out-of-court settlement of, in particular, consumer disputes to operate in a way which provides adequate procedural guarantees for the parties concerned.
3. Member States shall encourage bodies responsible for out-of-court dispute settlement to inform the Commission of the significant decisions they take regarding information society services and to transmit any other information on the practices, usages or customs relating to electronic commerce.
Article 18 deals with court actions which may be taken against alleged infringements and violations, but the Member States must ensure that court action may be quick and effective.
Member States shall ensure that court actions available under national law concerning information society services' activities allow for the rapid adoption of measures, including interim measures, designed to terminate any alleged infringement and to prevent any further impairment of the interests involved.

Member States shall determine the sanctions applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are enforced. The sanctions they provide for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

The Directive clarifies that the Single Market principle of mutual recognition of national laws and the principle of control in the country of origin must be applied to information society services so that such services provided from another Member State are not restricted for reasons falling within the scope of the proposal which would not cover taxation, personal data (the free movement of which is covered by Directive 95/46 see IP/98/925), the activities of notaries, representation and defence of clients before a court, gambling activities. Furthermore, the Directive does not interfere with the application of the Brussels Convention on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgements in civil and commercial matters and the Rome Convention on the law applicable to contractual obligations.
The Directive also allows Member States on a case by case basis to impose restrictions on information society services supplied from another Member State if necessary to protect the public interest on grounds of protection of minors, the fight against hatred on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality, public health or security and consumer protection. However, such restrictions would have to be proportionate to their stated objective. Moreover, such restrictions could only be imposed (except in cases of urgency) after:

• the Member State where the service provider was established had been asked to take adequate measures and failed to do so and
• the intention to impose restrictions had been notified in advance to the Commission and to the Member State where the service provider was established.

In cases of urgency, the reasons for the restrictions (and the urgency) would have to be notified in the shortest possible time to the Commission and to the Member State of the service provider. Where the Commission considered proposed or actual restrictions were not justified, Member States would be required to refrain from imposing them or urgently put an end to them.

IV. Consumer protection authorities

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. 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. There exist global or european organizations and authorities to protect consumer in e – commerce such as WTO, Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, euroISPA etc.
Also every country has it own measures and institution for protection of it´s consumers. In my country – in Slovakia the Ministry of the Economy is the competent body in consumers' protection area, having legislative initiative in this field. The Slovak Republic transposed into its legal system the Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on electronic commerce by the Electronic Commerce Law No. 22/2004 of the Collection of Laws, which came into effect on 1st February 2004. In order to make additions to the basic law and add precision to some of its provisions, the Electronic Commerce Law was amended by the Law No. 160/2005 of the Collection of Laws, which came into effect on 1st May 2005.
The Electronic Commerce Law legalized the way of communication taking place by means of electronic equipment between enterprises and consumers, between enterprises, and/or between citizens, enterprises and public authorities. This created a legal framework that establishes conditions similar to those that are in force for this area in the EU. In some legal relationships (especially contractual ones), the Law contains references to the respective legal regulations, in particular to the Commercial and Civil Code, as these regulations apply fully to the electronic conclusion of agreements, with some variance involved in contractual relationships specified in the Electronic Commerce Law. The Electronic Commerce Law regulates the terms and conditions under which information society services can be provided, it

regulates the rights and obligations of service providers and recipients, and it specifies when the provider is not liable for the information transmitted.
The compliance with the Law is supervised by the Slovak Commercial Inspection Authority (SCIA). The SCIA and self-administered professional bodies should play the role of contact points providing information and assistance in this area to the respective authorities and professional bodies (institutions, associations, etc.) in other Member States. The Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic is the place that provides assistance and information to the Commission and the state authorities of the Member States as well as to the providers and recipients of these services.
Several directives of the European Parliament and of the Council have been transposed into the Slovak legal system with respect to matters concerning electronic commerce. For example, the directives include:

- Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts was transposed into the Slovak legal system by means of Law No. 118/2006 of the Collection of Laws, which was amended by Law 108/2000 on protecting consumers involved in door to door sales and mail-order sales and by Law 266/2005 on protecting consumers targeted by distance marketing of financial services and on amending some laws. The said legal regulations are related to the Electronic Commerce Law, and their specifications complement it in some cases in particular from the perspective of consumer protection.

- Council Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts, transposed into the Consumer Protection Law 634/1992 of the Collection of Laws and into the Civil Code,

In the Slovak Republic, B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) electronic commerce is common, e.g. the selling of musical CDs, books, electronics, household appliances, office appliances, etc. Agreements are concluded and goods supplied in accordance with the Electronic Commerce Law and the Law on protecting consumers involved in door to door sales and mail-order sales. Also quite common are electronic payments by means of cards, possibilities of making use of consumer credits by means of credit cards, and even sophisticated payments via mobile phones, online payments between banks and individual institutions and enterprises, and payments between enterprises based on a contractual relationship under certain terms and conditions by means of a bank. This is the simplest form of e-commerce, which is why it is most widespread in the Slovak Republic. In the bank-client system, the electronic communication takes place via a certain PIN. Electronic communication using electronic signature is also used between enterprises, suppliers and customers via the EDI system (the EDIFACT standard supported mainly in Europe), i.e. electronic order and invoice. The EDI system is not fully appropriate for small and medium-sized enterprises as it requires an expensive infrastructure that cannot be afforded by small and medium-sized enterprises. It is very important to gradually define world standards for the data in this area (approximation of the UN/CEFACT standards to the model No. 2 of the World Customs Organisation), to unify customs clearance in the EU, etc. This provides a good environment for the global Single Window concept in the B2G (business to government) area. Accepting world standards represents the only sensible way forward for the Slovak Republic. The competent authorities made it possible to file tax returns electronically, report insurance events electronically, and use and send forms by means of portals run by public authorities so as to make it simpler for citizens and businesses to deal with such authorities. In addition, electronic communication with customs authorities was made available to facilitate the formalities related to international trade. As far as communication with the customs authorities is concerned, the standards and procedures are respected as recommended by the Centre for facilitating trade and electronic commerce at the European Economic Commission of the UN headquartered in Geneva, which is also supported globally in cooperation with other international organizations such as in particular the OECD, WTO, UNCTAD, etc. At present, the main focus is aimed at e-cash in relation to the preparations for the introduction of the Euro in the Slovak Republic.

In the Slovak Republic, the area of increasing the use of computers in the society is coordinated by the commissioner of the Government of the Slovak Republic for increased computer use in the society. The work of the commissioner is organized within the Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications of the Slovak Republic. The powers of the commissioner in this area are regulated by the law on information systems of public administration. In the area of e-commerce, the conditions in the Slovak Republic are similar to those in force in the EU in line with the mandatory transposition of the Electronic Commerce Directive and possibly other directives by all Member States including the Electronic Signatures Directive that falls within the scope of the National Security Authority. The area of e-commerce has a cross-sectional nature and affects all the ministries.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economy participate in the UN/CEFACT meetings in Geneva at the Centre for facilitating trade and electronic commerce as well as in the meetings of the e-commerce working group in Brussels. These meetings to some extent determine the direction in this area from both European and worldwide perspective. The first meeting of the regulatory group took place in Brussels on 20 March 2006 and included governmental and private experts from universities and business associations.

V. CONCLUSION

It is clear that access to the digital world is becoming increasingly essential. Telecommunications, and more specifically access to broadband internet, are of almost importance to consumers in the modern world. They are a pre-condition for accessing online markets, being able to compare prices, finding relevant information on products and sharing experiences with other users. E-commerce has great potential to improve consumer welfare, by making a greater range of products available, boosting price competition and developing new markets. It also brings significant new challenges for consumers, business and consumer protection. In particular, it weakens the grip of traditional advertising and retail mediums over consumer markets. This will challenge traditional modes of regulation, self-regulation and enforcement. The global nature of e-commerce poses a particular challenge to us all. The challenges and opportunities of the digital world are fast moving and exciting, but we should not allow ourselves to get carried away by the digital revolution. Consumer Protection needs to adapt to the digital world, as indeed it must always adapt to market developments. Only after that we can reach consumer confidence, fair competition, and economic development around the world.