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provided when laws or systems need upgrading to take into account novel areas of
invention (such as providing protection for the fruits of genetic research) or of
medium (such as the Internet)”. As with other policy issues, intellectual property
involves multiple stakeholders with different interests (Radcliffe, 1999), which
makes it difficult to resolve at a global level.
Underlying the discussion in terms of content are also issues of trust, in terms of
access to ‘suitable’
material but also in terms of authenticity and issues related to the
concept digital democracy, depending on who, if any, decides what constitutes
‘suitable’ material.
Commerce
Electronic commerce is at the top of the policy architecture pyramid of the
Global Internet Project, as it is perceived to be a critical factor driving the growth
of the Internet. Although electronic commerce has revolutionized the way of
conducting business, it is still a business activity that has to conform to certain rules
and work under specific standards (Negroponte, 1999). The European Union was
the first official body that considered a supranational policy on electronic com-
merce, in its effort to advance the integration process and to create a single market
(Mc Gowan, 1998). However, there are several organizations working at a
supranational level trying to enable global seamless communication such as the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the World Trade Orga-
nization (WTO). This is because standardization is recognized as an important issue
in electronic commerce, since the establishment of EDI applications (e.g., Chatfield
and Bjorn-Andersen, 1998; Faltch, 1998; Sokol, 1995; Tan, 1998). Standardiza-
tion however can be problematic, as it needs to balance multiple interests in an area
where competition has international dimensions and differs considerably from
traditional commerce. The extent to which certain stakeholders are privileged has
an impact on the role of electronic commerce in facilitating the digital democracy.
The importance of trust
at this level cannot be understated since, as discussed in
Section 2, it is one of the main reasons why electronic commerce has not reached
its current potential.