 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
and security issues. Second, the necessary legislation framework that protects
trading partners must be developed. Third, the perceptions about technology as a
tool that can threaten trust need to change to acknowledge that technology can also
be applied for the users’
protection, for example, through the effective use of
encryption mechanisms.
Digital Democracy
Information and communication technologies offer opportunities for govern-
ments and citizens to be brought into closer dialogue; they also facilitate political
organization and debate (Raab, et al., 1996). However, the extent to which the
information superhighway can fully enable citizens to participate in this emerging
‘digital democracy’, has been heavily debated. First, at a conceptual level, our
understanding of democracy is “as bounded in time as it is rooted in space”
(Nguyen
& Alexander, 1996, p. 120), which means that the term digital democracy is
inherently problematic in ‘cyberspace’. Importantly, there is a concern that if
citizens are not able to have access to on-line services, because they do not have
the means or the knowledge to do so, existing patterns of inequalities will be
reinforced. The digital democracy is threatened by “information aristocracy”
(Carter, 1997). In particular, there is evidence of a gender and race gap in the use
of the Internet as well as differences for users with different levels of income and
education (Hoffman and Novak, 1999; Kouzmin et al, 1999). While policy makers
at an international level are concerned about access to electronic commerce, the
burden falls mostly upon local authorities, which are responsible for the provision
of access to network facilities through the use of public access centers, kiosks or
tele-working centers. At a global level, the penetration of electronic commerce in
developing countries is also an outstanding issue related to the “haves”
and “have-
nots”
in cyberspace, (e.g. Bhatnagar, 1997; Blanning et al., 1997; Clark and Lai,
1998; Kim and Hong, 1997). Easy global information access, however, is also
problematic as it has been described as threatening both cultural identity and the
regulatory sovereignty of the state, especially when used in less powerful economies
(Shields, 1996). Finally, as privacy protection is a major concern in electronic
commerce there is a concern on whether ‘cyberspace’ can promote democracy