The national e-commerce law conference wrapped up in Midrand this weekend with little agreement but greater clarity on the issues according to delegates.
The conference was convened by the Department of Communications to discuss e-commerce legislation due to be tabled in parliament during June.
A summary of recommendations by the six commissions, into which the conference split to discuss specific issues, show a range of divergent opinions in areas such as universal access provision and encryption, but agreement was reached on a model for e-commerce facilitation.
The commissions were unanimous in their support for the model law adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNICITRAL). The 1996 document addresses matters such as the legal recognition of data messages and recognition of electronic contracts.
Three of the commissions also agreed that consumer protection legislation should be based on the European Union directives on distance selling and e-commerce.
There was less agreement in other areas, however. While delegates agreed that broad access to e-commerce was required throughout the population, some believed this should be addressed in telecommunications policy and not in e-commerce legislation. One commission recommended that Internet service providers (ISPs) carry obligations to provide access in under serviced areas; another said telecommunications operators should carry the burden. A third suggestion called for access roll out via gambling machines.
Other areas where divergent views were evident include a cryptography regime and the licensing of certification authorities.
Andile Ngcaba, director general of the Department of Communications, says the commission chairman will report their recommendations to communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri today or tomorrow. These reports will also be consolidated with the 52 written submissions received and the work of advisors to be presented to the departments of trade and industry, labour and others with responsibilities in the economic sphere.
"This Bill will be tabled before the end of June," Ngcaba says.
That assurance has raised fears among industry representatives that the legislation may already be completed in essence, with the conference being nothing more than a rubber stamp. "For them [the department of communications] to have this tabled by June it must already be prepared," one said. He agreed with counterparts, however, that specific issues could still be influenced even if the basic policy was settled.
Other players, who were involved in the recent telecommunications policy colloquium, anticipate legislation similar to telecoms policy, which is seen as based on governmental political and social objectives, and not on the good of the industry.
Public hearings on the final draft bill are expected during the third quarter, followed by the electronic signing of the bill.
"We hope that this first legislation to be signed digitally will be this bill," says Ngcaba.
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