Module 2: Legislative and Policy options to Promote e-Commerce and Expand Internet Use

Summary: Module 2 in a nutshell

• Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, is broadly defined as any use of information and communications technology by a business that helps it to improve its interactions with customers and suppliers.

• What can the government do to encourage SMEs to engage in e-commerce?

  • The government itself should engage in e-commerce;

  • The governments can use ICT to provide better and more transparent services; and;

  • The government can provide the legal and regulatory framework to encourage the growth of e-commerce, and the use thereof by SMEs.

• The growth of e-commerce depends on the legal enforceability of electronic contracts and electronic signatures. Without such legal clarity, people and companies will be very hesitant to engage in e-commerce.

• There are many ways of creating electronic signatures, ranging from the simple ones – such as typing one’s name at the end of an e-mail message – to the more sophisticated, such as public key infrastructures and biometric technologies.

• The important thing is that electronic documents and signatures must be functionally equivalent to their traditional counterparts.

• When crafting laws or rules, governments must be aware that their actions could have an effect on the development of technology itself. As a general rule, therefore, they must remain technology neutral.

Additional information on legislative and policy options to promote e-commerce and expand internet use

Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme.

Provides various resources on e-governance, ICT4D, ICT for SMEs, open source software, policy notes on ICT for SMEs, http://www.apdip.net/

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Electronic Commerce Steering Group.

Useful for development professionals in the Asia-Pacific region, keeping them up to date on issues and progress related to electronic commerce. http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/industry/otea/ecommerce/apec/

BIZPRO.

USAID-sponsored economic development project website with useful links related to SME training (including web-based training). http://www.bizpro.org.ua

Bridges.org

Reports and analyses, training material and guides, and statistics, including online resources for ICT training. http://www.bridges.org/

Digital signatures.

Information on digital signature definition and explanation, theories, illustration, standards, policies, security and privacy issues and legislation. Available online at the following websites:

• http://www.abanet.org/
• http://www.mbc.com/ecommerce/
• http://www.xml.com/
• http://www.itl.nist.gov/
• http://java.sun.com/developer/
• http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/

e-Business awareness campaign for SMEs of the European Commission.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/ict/policy/godigital.htm

e-Commerce legislation and regulatory regime.

Information on country laws, guidelines, legal initiatives on e-commerce and digital signatures, court decisions, and cyber law issues. Available online at the following web sites:

• http://www.bakernet.com/ecommerce/,
• http://www.philippinebusiness.com.ph/archives/magazine/vol9-2002/9-3/policy.htm
• http://euro.ecom.cmu.edu/resources/
• http://www.weblaw.edu.au/
• http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/index.html
• http://www.cyberspacelaw.org/crews/

e-Marketplace Services.

Contains reports, articles, case studies. Focused on helping SMEs understand and use e-marketplaces. http://www.emarketservices.com/

EMPREC, UNCTAD’s programme to promote the sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Provides information on general business training to SMEs and provides an Electronic Trade Opportunity capability. http://www.empretec.net/

IFC-WB SME toolkit.

Developed by IFC-WB which offers free software, business forms, training, and more to help small businesses in emerging markets grow and succeed. http://www.smetoolkit.org/

International Financial Corporation programme for SMEs.

Provides statistics on SME development and activities in Asia. Includes framework and approaches in developing and assisting SMEs. http://www.ifc.org/sme

News@SEI.

Provides a good introduction to Internet Security. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/news-at-sei/features/1998/dec/background-dec98.htm

Philippine SME statistics.

Government portals providing rules, laws, regulations and information on economic indicators for SME development.

http://www.neda.gov.ph

http://www.ntc.gov.ph

http://www.dti.gov.ph

http://www.gov.ph

Philippine SME portal.

Provides resources on how to establish an SME in the Philippines; includes business, management and accounting tools and a guide to government requirements for SMEs. http://www.sme.com.ph

Public Key Infrastructures and Certification Authorities.

Information on PKI and CA laws, CA licenses, regulations, definitions, statistics, and issues. Also hosts links to various websites on PKI and CA. http://www.pki-page.org/

OECD SME portal.

Promotes entrepreneurship and advances the performance of small businesses by evaluating and diffusing best practice policies in SME development. http://www.oecd.org/department/

SME for development.

A portal of resources of SME development, including forums for discussions, policy articles, and research on ICT technology for SMES. http://www.sme.com

UNESCAP.

www.unescap.org

UNIDO SME web site.

A portal dedicated in helping governments and the private sector to cooperate in the design and implementation of programmes to promote the organization and development of clusters and networks of SMEs. http://www.unido.org/doc

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