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Dilemmas in addressing policy issues
Previous research has argued that the policy objective of promoting deregulation
and competition is in conflict with other policy priorities, in particular the desire to provide
open networks and open access and the aspiration to provide universal service to citizens
(Graham, 1995). As electronic commerce expands, the dilemmas for the stakeholders
of the information society increase. The review of policy issues at different levels in the
previous section has revealed some of the dilemmas that policy makers face today:
•
Should governments give priority to the protection of national identity and
language or to international compliance?
•
Should they promote their own interests or provide assistance to developing
countries?
•
Is governance about protection or restriction? (For example, at an individual
level: is censorship desirable? At a business level: is taxation desirable?)
•
Where should priority be given: to the protection of personal data or to
competitiveness (to the extent that the free exchange of information and personal data
supports electronic transactions and business practices)?
•
What is more important, data and intellectual property protection or the free
exchange of ideas and data?
These dilemmas relate to the appropriate use of regulation, although in some
cases policy makers may have little choice as only some options are realistic (e.g.,
the Internet is used even though the legal context is unstable). Thus, one important
observation is that some dilemmas may no longer be a matter of choice, particularly
for less powerful stakeholders, such as individuals, or governments of developing
countries. A further observation is that in many cases these dilemmas imply a
conflict between the commercial and social interests of various stakeholder
groups. However, it is very difficult to draw some general conclusions about when
either interest is at stake. Research in management (e.g., Pettigrew, 1985) and
information systems (e.g., Walsham, 1993) as well as in law studies (e.g., as evident
in the importance of case law) has stressed the importance of context. However,
in ‘cyberspace’
the context, whether temporal or spatial, is elusive, making policy
making for electronic commerce more challenging. In view of these issues, the