OECD issues global protection guidelines for e-consumer

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published its findings on consumer protection on the Internet after 18 months of investigation.

The OECD is calling on national governments to work together in creating global protection for consumers - including a "transparent and effective" legal framework for ecommerce.

The recommendations are intended to provide a "framework and set of principles" for governments, business associations, consumer groups and companies worldwide.

The guidelines cover advertising, privacy, dispute resolution, payment and education. Recommendations include requiring companies to provide legal information, a principal address and a phone number on their Web site and forcing businesses to let users opt-out of unsolicited email.

It also warns that businesses "should not exploit the special characteristics of electronic commerce to hide their true identity or location, or to avoid compliance with consumer protection standards and/or enforcement mechanisms".

Alan Stevens, editor of the Consumers Association's Which? Online, cautiously welcomed the guidelines: "They're an important step forward in protecting consumers shopping online - which is good news.

"But they're kind of a compromise, as these guidelines often are, and they're legally non-binding. The important thing will be how quickly and effectively they're enacted into legislation by the UK government."

The report states that business-to-consumer cross-border electronic transactions are subject to the existing legal framework, and recommends that governments look at modifying that framework, or applying it differently, to ensure effective consumer protection.

But Heather Stark, principal consultant, Ovum, warned that the guidelines could be difficult to enforce: "It's good that people have been able to agree even to this extent. But there are substantial differences in approach from different countries and the guidelines could be interpreted in very different ways."

"It's going to take quite a while for the recommendations to trickle down to consumers and businesses," she added.

The OECD's Committee on Consumer Policy will monitor the uptake and implementation of the recommendations, and report back on its findings by 2002.