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society is increasing, it is important to prevent a predominantly technical, commer-
cial or legal approach that neglects the broader social issues related to policy
making. To this end, this paper examines social issues related to electronic
commerce policy making and is structured as follows. In the next section we present
two fundamental social concerns that are related to policy making in electronic
commerce: trust and digital democracy. In Section 3 we discuss these concerns in
the light of different policy issues arising from the use of network technologies, and
in Section 4 we present their implications for policy making in electronic commerce.
The paper concludes with the importance of a holistic approach to policy making
and suggestions for further research.
SOCIAL CONCERNS
The introduction of technologies such as the Internet in everyday life has
resulted in a debate about its relative merits
and disadvantages. Some of the social
concerns are illustrated in the study conducted by the Stanford Institute for the
Quantitative Study for Society (SIQSS, 2000) concerning the social implications
of Internet use. The findings of the study indicate that the Internet is an “isolating
technology”
that could seriously damage the social fabric of communities as users
interact physically with other people less. The social implications of the Internet can
be witnessed in organizational processes, the nature of work, learning and
education, innovation and competition, electronic democracy, privacy and surveil-
lance (Dutton, 1996). This section considers the social concerns related to the use
of Internet technologies by focusing on two of the most frequently discussed social
issues in electronic commerce. These are trust, a social issue underlying the
business use of the Internet, and digital democracy, a term underlying the use of
Internet technology in the society as a whole. The following paragraphs consider
each in detail.
Trust
Lack of trust in on-line transactions is one of the main reasons reported for the
relatively low electronic commerce adoption today. Trust is a key issue and its