Is Europe on the Right Track to Becoming Ready for E-Commerce? How Effective is Recent Regulation?GRIN Verlag, 2007 - 100 pages Master's Thesis from the year 2004 in the subject Law - Media, Multimedia Law, Copyright, grade: first, distinction (mit Auszeic, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, course: LL.M. Programm, language: English, abstract: This Dissertation aims to assess the effectiveness and suitability of European regulation in respect to E-Commerce. Taking the European 'Lisbon Strategy' as set out in 2000 as a starting point, this paper examines whether Europe is on the right track to becoming "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy (...) by 2010". Hereby, the scope of this paper is limited to E-Commerce only as one essential part of a 'knowledge-based economy' and an 'e-ready' Europe. After outlining the special nature of E-Commerce, the rationale behind regulation and the historical background of European regulation in this field, this paper concentrates on four issues where the EU has become active in regulating E-Commerce, namely, the essential prerequisite of an existing 'e-infrastructure', e-signatures, privacy and consumer protection. The European approach to each of these issues is assessed to reveal its strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, this European way of regulating E-Commerce is then compared with other regulative attempts. Hereby, special attention is paid to the US approach to regulating E-Commerce which is mostly based on self-regulation. Thus, this paper comes to the conclusion that Europe is on the right track to becoming 'e-ready' in respect to E-Commerce. Basic regulatory decisions have the potential to lead in the right direction, although they do not always provide the most effective solution. Often European Directives do not reach far enough and are outdated. Thus, they do not address E-Commerce sufficiently, give too much discretion to the Member States and leave prevalent gaps or do not interoperate properly. Therefore, the European regulation on E-Commerce needs some revision and has to take some brave and innovative steps to establis |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acknowledged advantage approach argued Article basic becoming broadband businesses certainty cited Commerce communications companies competition concerning connection consent constitutional consumer protection contracts costs Council customers Data Protection deal decisions Distance Selling Directive drafting E-Commerce E-Commerce Directive E-Communications e-signatures Economic and Social effective Electronic emails enforcement ensure especially essential established Europe European Commission European Parliament existing final framework Furthermore give given governments guarantee Hence ibid implementation increase individual initiative Internet issues lack legislation means Member Moreover nature Nevertheless offered outlined para personal data possibility potential practically principles privacy protection problem processing promote reaching receive Recital regulation requirement respect risk seen self-regulation shows signatures situation Social Committee Spam standards supported technological telecommunications tion transactions visited
Popular passages
Page 10 - December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector, OJ 1998 L 24/1; Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications), OJ 2002 L 201/37.
Page 80 - Directive 2000/31 /EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market Directive on electronic commerce, OJEC, L178, 17/07/2000 pp.
Page vi - Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees, Brussels, 7 July 1999, OJ L 171, p.
Page 32 - Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the Protection of Individuals in relation to the Processing of Personal Data (COM(90)314 final - SYN 287, OJ C 277, 5.11.1990).
Page 43 - Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services...
Page vi - Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, COM (2000) 385, 12.07.2000. [24] Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on unbundled access to the local loop (adopted by Council on 5.
Page 75 - An Information Society for All", Communication on a Commission Initiative for the Special European Council of Lisbon, 23 and 24 March 2000.
Page 63 - Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the internal market, COM (1998) 586 final, 98/0325 (COD), OJ 1999/C 30/04.
Page 6 - The first meaning of regulation he finds in the literature is "any form of behavioral control"; the second, "a sustained and focused control exercised by a public agency over activities that are valued by a community...