The proposal was made after the completion of a two year study
into legal issues arising in connection with the internet. The
areas reviewed included consumer protection, privacy, banking,
taxation and gaming, all of which are readily recognised as areas
of potential conflict as regards the smooth running of the
internet.
The report, which also looked at existing regulation in the US,
concluded that existing measures were not sufficient and needed
adaptation in order to effectively address legal problems
associated with the internet. At present the ABA does not appear to
have adopted any of the report’s recommendations.
The chairman of the ABA Global Cyberspace Jurisdiction Project,
Thomas Vartanian, has further emphasised the need for a global
internet regulation system.
In a recent press conference Vartanian commented, “anyone doing
business in cyberspace needs to know what laws to obey, whether it
be a question of what taxes are due and where, or what consumer
protections apply to the sale of their products or services”.
It remains unclear how national responses to the internet will
be successfully integrated into the global marketplace.
