Volume VI

Issue : 13: June 26, 2008

• EU Sets Sight on Cross-Border E-Commerce
• Alberta Court Decision Raises Potential for New Defence of “Literary Licence”
• FTC Halts Deceptive Domain Name Practices of Canadian Company
• Judge Wants Panel to Investigate His Own Pornographic Postings
• Engineer Sentenced Under U.S. Anti Spy Law for Providing Military Software to China
• Ontario Court Grants Injunctive Relief for Internet Libel
• Copyright Reform Bill Could Result in $20,000 Fines for Canadians
• RIM Triumphs in .CA Complaint over Blackberry Domain Names

Home > Volume VI > Issue 13: June 26, 2008 > EU Sets Sight on Cross-Border E-Commerce

EU Sets Sight on Cross-Border E-Commerce

The market of 500 million European shoppers is ripe for consumer protection regulation. This was the message that the EU Consumer Commissioner delivered on June 20th, 2008.

Speaking at a Roundtable on Digital Issues in London, Meglena Kuneva set out a vision for an EU-wide single online market. The proposed new legislation will cut back on the current jungle of complex laws and offer a simplified common set of rules for business to consumer contracts across the EU.

The ultimate goal is to create a single convenient online shopping avenue for the EU citizens. 150 million people, about a third of the EU population, already shops over the Internet, but only 30 million of them purchase goods and services from another EU state. Kuneva cites unfair commercial practices and artificially limited business models along national borders as barriers in a move towards EU’s single online market.

Past efforts demonstrate that the journey will not be smooth. The simplified set of rules will likely reignite a recurring battle in which member states prefer to avoid dilution or toughening of national regulations. Furthermore, the states’ different interpretations of the law severely impedes cross border enforcement as evident in a recent enforcement sweep in the online airline ticket sales sector.

It is remarkable that 15 years have passed since the EU's single market was introduced, yet e-commerce has still not been fully embraced by it. However, with the proposed new legislation, European shoppers are closer than ever to a regulated online shopping experience.

For additional information, visit:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080620/tot-uk-eu-online-retailers-b86c26b.html