[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 241 (Wednesday, December 16, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69289-69291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33281]


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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 [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