Understanding EU - US Regarding Electronic Commerce

IRIS 1998-2:1/7

Marina Benassi

Attorney at law

The European Union has agreed with the United States on a Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce in order to set the necessary basis to build a predictable commercial environment where business on the Internet can be driven.

The co-ordinated approach of EU and US aims to provide guidelines which, in the opinion of the authors of the Statement, should be followed, preferably at a global level, in order to further encourage trade, investments, and to create new sectors of activities on the Net.

The document stresses the importance of the role covered by industry self-regulation conducted within a predictable and consequent legal framework set by the government and of close co-operation between the different governments themselves.

Among the goals to which priority is given the US and the EU agreed on the implementation, in a short time, of the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, on the necessity of ensuring an effective protection of privacy with regard to the processing of personal data, and on the intention to create a global-market system directed at the management of domain names.