[Ecommerce] Comments sought by US gov e-commerce WG by 17 Mar 00

[Brian Kahin]

At 02:45 PM 3/2/00 -0500, Ed Mierzwinski wrote:
>TO: Privacy and Consumer Groups
>FR: Ed Mierzwinski
>RE: Comments sought on barriers to electronic commerce.
>2 Mar 00
>
>Today, the Chair of the US Government Working Group on Electronic Commerce,
>David Beier, [Chief Domestic Policy Advisor for the Vice President], asked
>Pamela Gilbert of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, [a member of
>the working group and former USPIRG and Public Citizen staffer], to contact
>consumer groups and urge them to consider filing comments before 17 March
>on "barriers to electronic commerce." I told Pamela I would forward a note
>to all the groups and individuals I know that are working on this matter. I
>apologize in advance for cross-postings. [I am posting to the Markey-Shelby
>list, the TACD list, and Jamie's list. Feel free to post to other groups.]
>International groups and friends, I hope they would be interested in your
>views, too.
>
>Mr. Beier and the WG are specifically interested in consumer group views on
>all aspects of the issue, especially since we might have views about
>**maintaining** some perceived barriers, because they are actually consumer
>protections. Comments are due by 17 March, although it is possible that
>since these are comments to a working group, rather than to a formal
>rulemaking, late filings would be acceptable. Here are three web addresses:
>
>The Working group page-- with links to all US govt e-commerce projects.
><www.ecommerce.gov>
>
>The barriers comments home page--
><http://osecnt13.osec.doc.gov/ecommerce/barriers.nsf>
>
>Jump right to the on-line comments pages--
><http://www.ecommerce.gov/ebarriers/respond>
>
>Here is an excerpt:
>"To implement these objectives, the President mandated that the United
>States Government Working Group on Electronic Commerce: (1) identify laws
>and regulations that impose barriers to the growth of electronic commerce,
>and (2) recommend how these laws and regulations should be revised to
>facilitate the development of electronic commerce, while ensuring that
>protection of the public interest (including consumer protection) is
>equivalent to that provided with respect to offline commerce. The President
>mandated that the Commerce Department lead a subgroup to implement this
>work, and the Subgroup on Legal Barriers to Electronic Commerce has been
>formed to carry out those responsibilities.
>The President directed the Subgroup to invite the public to participate in
>this effort by identifying laws or regulations that may obstruct, hinder or
>discriminate against electronic commerce, including those that should be
>modified on a priority basis. The Subgroup was also charged with inviting
>public comment on how such laws and regulations could be adapted to the
>electronic environment while ensuring that public interest protections will
>be equivalent to those now provided in offline commerce. This Notice and
>Request for Comment implements those directives."
>
>
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Brian Kahin
kahin@wyoming.com
Internet Policy Institute Fellow
Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), 
University of California
www.bigfoot.com/~kahin

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