In response to three questionnaires issued in March, the
Commission received 103 answers. Of these, 62% came from
associations or chambers of commerce, 27% from e-marketplace
operators and 11% from trust operators and e-business platforms.
Some respondents were from countries outside the EU, including the
US, Lithuania, Iran and Israel.
The majority of the respondents identified the protection of
confidentiality of sensitive data (59.4%) and the security of
information systems (57.8%) as the main trust barriers for the use
of e-marketplaces.
Other concerns included a lack of clear information on the terms
and conditions of contracts such as applicable law and
jurisdiction, and uncertainties related to the settlement of
disputes and on-line payments.
Many of the respondents also found that lack of information on
the different steps for the conclusion of a contract, or about the
identity of the companies is a problem.
A further concern was related to the role of the Commission in
the self-regulatory process. The view of the respondents was that
the development of codes of conduct should be the exclusive
responsibility of businesses and should not be subject to efforts
of "regulating self-regulation." Such codes, according to the
responses, should mainly address information security and contract
issues.
The "Trust barriers for B2B e-marketplaces" results document is
available from:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/ict/policy/b2b-consultation/b2b-trust-cons-sum.pdf
