E-commerce †the legal considerations Essay -- Computer Science

E-commerce – the legal considerations ===================================== There are lots of legal considerations and I've tried to include some of the main ones. Although e-commerce can mean a lot of things, here I've related it to actually selling items on a website (although a lot of the legal considerations would need to be considered even if you were not selling on the web. Data protection considerations ============================== The Data Protection Act lays down lots of rules that must be adhered to. If this is a website for a company that is already trading and keeps customer data then they should already be registered with the Information Commissioner but you may need to review what's been registered. The main points you need to consider is that for any data you collect on the site you must:  · Deal fairly with the info  · Tell the customer what data you collect  · Tell them what you are going to do with it  · Keep it safe and secure This should be set out in the website's terms and conditions (and you should link to it at the main point where you collect the data) Website terms and conditions ---------------------------- The site must have comprehensive terms and conditions and you will need to link to these wherever applicable (eg if you are selling there should be a check box that the consumer ticks to say "I have read the terms and conditions etc etc". Things the terms and conditions should contain include:  · Data protection act considerations (as explained above)  · Terms and conditions of use including copyright notice, general disclaimer, liabilities (or non-liabilities – especially in terms of credit card fraud)  · Full name, address, email etc of the trader, VAT number, Company number, member of trade organisation (if you are selling)  · A clear privacy policy explaining what you do with information collected on the site. This privacy policy must also set out if you use cookies on the site and what you use them for. This is all topical at the moment with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regs 2003  · A clear "conditions of sale" which includes details of when the contract is actually formed (ie the order represents the offer and the email back confirming dispatch represents the acceptance) - avoid any mistakes like the Argos TV for  £3.99  · Clear returns policy .. ... encouraging more internet sales. At the same time, credit card companies are including "credit card fraud" insurance, again reassuring consumers Mobile connectivity =================== Handheld PDA, WAP services and wireless hotspots are all making web access easier Intelligent sites and targeted marketing ======================================== Sites are becoming more technologically advanced allowing companies to target customers with specific products depending on their recorded preferences or previous buying habits. One of the best examples of this is Amazon who instantly provide other book recommendations based on your purchase or on the purchases of other customers who bought the same book. Similar data collection also allows companies to do targeted email campaigns ensuring the right product is marketed to the right person (well that's the intention anyway!!) This practice is being taken one step further with Googles planned g-mail which will automatically scan the content of a users personal emails and then deliver further targeted mails based on their content (but which is subject to a lot of criticism at the moment about privacy rights)