Global E-Commerce Regulation - Self-regulation

SELF-REGULATION

At the same time, calls were growing for the creation of an international e-commerce regulating body, not to impose new regulations from above, but to see to it that the increasing number of national regulations didn't wind up impeding global e-commerce. These sentiments were shared by industry groups and others who felt that the best way to foster e-commerce was to impose as little regulation from above as possible, and to allow industries to meet their own specific challenges and coordinate with other industries to achieve a common end.

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) was one industry group to strongly promote and implement self-regulatory measures rather than rely on governmental bodies to impose regulations from the outside. The group created comprehensive membership guidelines requiring member companies to abide by clear standards of behavior to protect consumer privacy, and conducted industry-wide educational and policy forums to address issues important to members.

The Clinton administration, the U.S. presidency that oversaw the opening of the Internet to e-commerce, was fairly hands-off, particularly compared with its European counterparts, tending to favor self-regulation rather than promote and enforce laws that might have hampered its development. While business leaders applauded this approach, it left many problems unresolved, which regulators in the 2000s were expected to deal with.