[Ecommerce] DOC asks Public Comments on E-Commerce Policies

[James Love]

We will use this public comment period to request changes in patent laws
to exclude patents on busines methods, expansion of WTO rules on
copyright exemptions (TRIPS, Article 13) for fair use and
interoperability, public procurement of software that supports open web
standards, stricter privacy regulation, and a "bright line" limiting
ICANN jurisdiction.    Jamie

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                                Contact: Morrie Goodman 202/482-4883
                                         Chuck Melley 202/219-4287 
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Tuesday, February 1, 2000

COMMERCE SECRETARY DALEY CALLS FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WAYS TO FACILITATE
THE GROWTH OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

               Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Commerce William M.
Daley announced today that the Administration is seeking public comments
and suggestions concerning policies, laws or regulations that might
create barriers to electronic commerce.

                      "Our aim is to establish a legal framework that
facilitates electronic commerce around the globe, to protect consumers
and their privacy, and to enable everyone in our country to fully
participate in this remarkable economic transformation," Daley said.
"Some laws and regulations designed for the 'physical world' may not
always work in cyberspace. We need to ensure that governments do
everything possible to foster this revolution in opportunity,
convenience, and choice, while providing on-line equivalents to
important consumer protections we now have in the paper-based world."

                      Vice President Gore announced this initiative in
November 1999 through a Presidential Directive to Federal Agencies. A
Department of Commerce led sub-group will undertake this initiative on
behalf of the U.S. Working Group on Electronic Commerce. The sub-group
will recommend revisions that facilitate electronic commerce while
ensuring that online commerce is as safe for consumers and the public as
commerce in the offline world.

                      Many of the laws now on the books pre-date the
recent explosion in online commerce. For example, some licensing
requirements or specific technical standards may unintentionally prevent
some transactions from occurring online. On the other hand, the
sub-group may find that the current rules in some areas continue to make
sense. 

                      In addition to soliciting public comments, the
Administration will invite representatives from Federal agencies, and
state and local governments to identify barriers to e-commerce, propose
solutions and identify opportunities for collaboration. Among other
objectives, the sub-group seeks to identify on a priority basis which
federal laws or regulations are inhibiting electronic commerce by small
businesses and to suggest how they might be modified.

                      A detailed request for public comments was
published in today's Federal Register. Comments, which can be submitted
via the web at http://www.ecommerce.gov/ebarriers/respond, are due by
March 17, 2000.


-- 
James Love, Consumer Project on Technology
P.O. Box 19367        | http://www.cptech.org
Washington, DC 20036  | mailto:love@cptech.org
Voice 1.202.387.8030  | fax 1.202.387.8030