Final Communique From the 1997 TABD Meeting
Rome, Italy

(Excerpted -- for full text access http://www.iep.doc.gov/tabd/final.htm)

Electronic Commerce

Development of electronic commerce requires a review of traditional practices and legislation. Updating or possibly abolishing current policies may be necessary in order to enable electronic commerce. Most importantly, it is necessary to prevent the creation of trade barriers, either technical or non-technical, since such barriers would inhibit the job creation and economic growth potential of electronic commerce.

Electronic commerce translates the extraordinary benefits of the Internet into new business development opportunities, in business-to-business transactions (especially for small and medium sized enterprises), in business-to-market, and particularly in government-to-business relationships. Electronic commerce is a powerful driver to create new markets, new applications, new business, and new jobs. It has the potential to revolutionize the business environment.

Through electronic commerce, small businesses can operate globally without the massive investment typically required to establish a distribution mechanism. Large corporations can relate directly with their customer, empowering the consumer with previously unavailable individual impact and commercial choice. Governments can modernize their services, and offer more efficient support to their citizens. Secure and efficient development can only be ensured by industry and governments working in partnership to enable that future. Industrys role is to lead in the development of the infrastructure necessary to support electronic commerce. It is critical that any regulatory approach be minimal, globally harmonized, technology neutral and promote global interoperability. The EU and U.S. should broaden the discussions on electronic commerce policy to all regions of the world.

The TABD has focused on five priority areas to address immediately in order to ensure continued rapid growth of Electronic Commerce:

A. Protection of Personal Data and Privacy: The TABD supports mutual recognition by governments of industry-led, market-driven privacy protection principles in order to ensure and increase consumer trust in electronic commerce. National privacy protection should allow for differences in protection measures based on national political systems and local cultures, with government regulation only as a last resort. TABD urges the governments of both the U.S. and EU to work together with industry to understand how market-driven, self-regulatory solutions provide protection of and ensure the continuation of transborder personal data flows. TABD would actively support such efforts and provide a forum for discussion.

B. Digital Signatures and Harmonized Legal Framework: The standards and criteria for providing authentication services must be established by industry in a competitive environment. The TABD encourages creation of an industry-led, market-driven system to ensure the validity of digital signatures while also creating a globally harmonized legal framework to create certainty in transacting business electronically.

C. Encryption: Businesses and users must be free to select the strength and type of encryption technology necessary to secure their valuable information property and personal data. The TABD recommends that there be no import, export or domestic controls on encryption technology. The TABD members are willing to work with administrations to create globally interoperable encryption policies that promote user choice, and that provides a high-level of security. Products and services with key recovery or trusted third party escrow features should not be mandated by any kind of regulation or legislation, but should be available based on market preferences. The TABD is committed to discussions with governments regarding issues of public safety, which may not be used for protectionism or trade barriers.

D. Tax, Tariff and Customs: Similar transactions should be taxed identically regardless of the means through which they are conducted. Multiple taxation for single transactions and special taxes should be prevented. That which can be delivered electronically over the Internet should be tariff-free, as it is now.

E. Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and Associated Liabilities: The TABD encourages Intellectual Property right holders, equipment suppliers, On-line and Internet Service Providers (OSPs/ISPs) and administrations to work together to develop a legal and technological framework that provides a high level of protection for intellectual property rights, while ensuring that technical protection measures do not inhibit product innovation, and that the development of on-line services is not hampered by lack of clarity regarding the liability of OSPs/ISPs or of equipment suppliers as enhanced protections are implemented according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) treaties. The TABD supports strong intellectual property protection and the ratification and implementation of the WIPO Treaties.

The TABD urges administrations to work with all stakeholders to resolve differences over associated issues, such as the OSP/ISP liability and circumvention. Stakeholders should work together to develop voluntary, market-driven, technological solutions that protect intellectual property, supported by an appropriate legal framework. Decisionmakers should take into consideration industrys recommendations so that conflicting national policies do not emerge as trade barriers. Laws should be transparent and internationally harmonized to the maximum extent possible.