3 11 November 2001

News:

The US moratorium on internet taxes will be extended for a further two years following the Senate defeat of a proposal which would have paved the way for US States to introduce State taxes on e-commerce.

The UK Information Commission has dismissed online business claims that the European Parliament amendments to the Directive concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector will be a massively expensive blow to European e-commerce. “The warnings coming from industry are reminiscent of those from the Direct Marketeers some years ago”, said Francis Aldhouse, Deputy Information Commissioner. “Our view is that being upfront with the customer pays in the end. If you look at websites which have to comply with the Financial Services Regulations, you can see that many of them are successful in being both user friendly and meeting the standards required.”

Sportingbet Plc remains confident that the action by the Attorney General of New Jersey, who has started civil proceedings against the UK Aim listed company and its directors for accepting bets from New Jersey citizens, will not harm the company’s business.

Features:

Data is the fundamental building block of e-commerce. Little wonder that moves to regulate data generate so much heat amongst online business. The ability to manipulate vast databases of information, to person-alise that information for individuals and to deliver it almost anywhere in the world in seconds lies at the core of the internet.

As businesses increasingly target consumers through a number of different mediums, personal data on those individuals is collected in more and more ways, most notably on websites. The processing of personal data from a website is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998, which came into force in March 2000. There has been a transitional period which ended on 24 October 2001. Under the Act, “processing” of data includes its collection, storage and use. Whoever determines the purposes for which, and the manner in which, the personal data will be processed is a “Data Controller”, and it is the Data Controller who must comply with the Act. As businesses increasingly target consumers through a number of different mediums, personal data on those individuals is collected in more and more ways, most notably on websites. The processing of personal data from a website is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998, which came into force in March 2000. There has been a transitional period which ended on 24 October 2001. Under the Act, “processing” of data includes its collection, storage and use. Whoever determines the purposes for which, and the manner in which, the personal data will be processed is a “Data Controller”, and it is the Data Controller who must comply with the Act.

The UK Government recently announced a policy for communication service providers (CSP’s, e.g. phone companies and internet service providers) to retain the communications data of all citizens for up to twelve months, regardless of whether those citizens are suspected of criminal activity or not. This is a long-awaited boon for law enforcement, but the effects on CSP’s and human rights are very damaging.

“The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavour at the business known as gambling” wrote Ambrose Bierce, in his 1880s work: “The Devil’s Dictionary”. Unfortunately Mr Bierce, that would score no points at all in 2001: quizzes, competitions and gambling have hit the big time. Although the prize in the competition to offer popular iTV gaming services is bigger than ever, there are rules of playing the game and a good understanding of these is likely to spell the difference between “Advance to Go” and “Go to Jail”. This article looks at the three main areas of iTV gaming available: interactive games; fixed odds betting; and gaming; the types of services that are currently offered; the hazards which may catch the un-wary; some proposals to help avoid them (perhaps more “50/50” than “phone a friend”); and at how the law may change in relation to what is one of the biggest internet industries: gaming

Jurisdictional disputes are a growing feature of online business. The Yahoo cases in France and the United States have garnered much attention. This article examines the position in the UK regarding exposure to foreign judgments.

The 23rd International Conference of Data Protection Commissioners took place at the Sorbonne, Paris at the end of September. Hosted by the Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertés (CNIL) the conference brought together data protection authorities, privacy advocates and data protection officers from around the globe.