CONSUMER
CHALLENGES IN THE
INTERNET ECONOMY
OECD COMMITTEE ON
CONSUMER POLICY
Brigitte Acoca
UNCITRAL
29-30 March 2010
Vienna
OECD WORK IN RELATION TO E-COMMERCE and
CONSUMER DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND REDRESS
Overview
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1999: E-commerce Guidelines
2002: payment cardholder protections
2003: Cross-border Fraud Guidelines
2005: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
2007: Recommendation on Consumer Dispute
Resolution and Redress
2008: Seoul Ministerial on the Future of the Internet
Economy
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Policy guidance on online identity theft and mobile commerce
REVIEW OF THE 1999 OECD E-COMMERCE GUIDELINES
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Scope: B2C e-commerce
Fair business, advertising and marketing practices
Information disclosure (business, products, transaction)
Confirmation process
Payment protection and security
Dispute resolution and redress
Privacy
Education
Implementation by private sector
Cross-border cooperation (including combating fraud)
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ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
THE 1999 OECD E-COMMERCE GUIDELINES
• OECD/ICPEN joint meeting (1 April 2009)
(www.oecd.org/document/57/0,3343,en_2649_34267_42534649_1_1_1_1,00.html)
• Washington Conference (8-10 December 2009)
(www.oecd.org/ict/econsumerconference )
– Background report on e-commerce (2009)
– Draft summary
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ONGOING AND EMERGING
E-CONSUMER CHALLENGES (1)
• Payment protection and security (focus on mobile commerce)
– Unauthorised charges/theft
– Non-delivery/non-conformity
• Online advertising
– Focus on behavioural advertising
– Lack of consumer information and awareness about collection, use and
storage of personal data
• Contracts transparency
• Unfairness
• C2C transactions
– Concerns about fraud
– Role and responsibilities of all parties involved, including Internet
intermediaries
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ONGOING AND EMERGING
E-CONSUMER CHALLENGES (2)
• Digital content products
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Information on restrictions to use of products
Contracts transparency
Dispute resolution and redress
Interoperability
• Participative web issues
– Applicability of consumer protection laws to social
networking, blogging
• Children
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WORK PLAN (1)
• Options include:
– Developing sector specific studies and/or
– Developing interpretive text and/or
– Revising the 1999 Guidelines/related instruments
including:
• 2003 OECD Guidelines on Cross-border Fraud
• 2007 OECD Recommendation on Consumer Dispute
Resolution and Redress (at:
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/50/38960101.pdf)
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WORK PLAN (2)
• Coordination with other OECD bodies regarding
work on privacy, the protection of children online,
Internet intermediaries
– OECD Workshop on the role of Internet intermediaries,
Paris, 16 June 2010
• Co-operation with other international bodies
(ISO, ICPEN,UNCITRAL/IICL, UNCTAD,
UNODC)
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Brigitte.Acoca@oecd.org
www.oecd.org/ict/econsumerconference
www.oecd.org/sti/consumer-policy
Next meeting of the OECD Committee on Consumer
Policy 14-15 April, Paris
OECD Headquarters
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