From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: Different Approaches to Privacy Issue: OECD Date: Fri, 09 Oct 1998 16:28:03 -0500 To: believer@telepath.com Source: USIA http://www.usia.gov/current/news/latest/98100904.clt.html?/products/washfile /newsitem.shtml 09 October 1998 OECD CONFERENCE ACCEPTS DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO PRIVACY ISSUE (Resolved authentication issue on electronic signatures) (400) By Bruce Odessey USIA Staff Correspondent Ottawa -- A conference of 29 industrialized countries for promoting electronic commerce has resolved a controversy between the United States and the European over Internet privacy by accepting both points of view. The United States contended industry should be left to manage the problem by itself, but the European Union had demanded a government regulatory approach. "The adversity of views can produce compatible solutions," said John Manley, Canadian minister of industry, who presided over the October 7-9 conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The language approved by the OECD said the governments "encourage the adoption of privacy policies, whether implemented by legal, self-regulatory, administrative or technological means." In a statement issued in Washington U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley praised the conference work. "Our self-regulatory approach can co-exist with approaches taken by other governments so long as we focus on our common objective -- effective privacy protection," Daley said. Again, on the issue of authenticating e-commerce signatures and enforcing Internet contracts, the OECD was comfortable with different approaches. The governments declared they would "take a non-discriminatory approach to electronic authentication from other countries." The three-day conference held in Ottawa, Canada, was the first one held by the OECD to include representatives from business, labor and consumer groups as well as non-member governments. Business representatives expressed satisfaction with the outcome, but representatives of consumer groups were skeptical or hostile. The OECD staff is required to complete draft guidelines in 1999 on consumer protection. The OECD emphasized development "of effective market driven self-regulatory mechanisms that include input from consumer representatives." But consumer advocates insisted that only government-to-government agreements can protect consumer interests when shoddy goods are ordered over the Internet and delivered across national borders. The conference also took some crucial decisions on taxation. Notably the governments agreed to apply existing taxes to electronic commerce and not to develop new taxes. They also agreed to impose taxes at the place of consumption and not at the place of production and to work out problems in defining the place of consumption. OECD Director-General Donald Johnston said he expected some sort of follow up meeting at the working level and not at the ministerial level within a year. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************