eCommerce Regulations

Selling on the internet

These cover any service, normally provided for remuneration at a distance, by means of electronic equipment for the processing and storage of data and at the recipient's request e.g. selling goods and services on line, video on demand, transmission of information via a communication network, hosting information, providing communications by email.

Country of origin

The Country of Origin principle is compromised. A UK established service provider must comply with UK law when supplying services to the UK and the European Economic Area ("EEA"), but must also comply with the local law of any consumer. Local law is also relevant to certain intellectual property rights, land deals, the permissibility of Spam. The parties may also agree what law to apply to their dealings.

Information requirements

The service provider must provide in an easy direct and permanently accessible format, his name, geographic address, contact details including email address, details of any entry in a trade register and registration number, any supervising authority or governing body, VAT number. If there are technical restraints e.g. with mobile phone text messages, put information on your website.

Commercial communications

These include websites and emails or anything designed to promote your services. They should be clearly identifiable (not defined!) as a commercial communication, promotional offer, competition or game (as the case may be), clearly identify you and the conditions.

Pre-Contract Information

Before an order being placed, the supplier must provide the recipient with the different technical steps to follow to conclude the contract, whether the service provider will file the contract and allow access to it, the technical means for identifying and correcting input errors prior to the placing of the order ("the Correction Facility"), the languages on offer and any relevant codes of conduct. B2B parties can agree otherwise and an on-line seller will obviously wish to do so.

The supplier must give the recipient (in a way he can store and reproduce) the terms and conditions to the contract, must acknowledge receipt of any order without undue delay by electronic means and must provide the Correction Facility. Failure gives the recipient the right to cancel the contract at any time in the future (subject to Limitation Act rules). B2B parties can agree otherwise and an on-line seller will obviously wish to do so.

Curiously the order and acknowledgement are deemed to be received when the supplier and recipient respectively are "able to access them." It is to clear how this affects the English rules on how and exactly when a contract can be formed! On-line suppliers will wish to state this in their terms and conditions, possibly stipulating that the contract is formed at the moment the Seller takes payment.

Internet Service Providers

You can be intermediaries for the unlawful acts of others. It is now clear that you are not liable yourself if you merely facilitate the conduit caching and hosting of material produce by third parties. Note:

Conduit. Do not edit, modify or monitor the transmission or determine the recipient.
Caching. Do not modify information, comply with any conditions for access to the information and industry standards re updating of information, do not interfere with industry recognized technology to obtain data for the use of information, act quickly on being told that information at source has been removed or disabled.
Hosting. Take down quickly any illegal material once you are told.

Electronic contracting

Member states are required to facilitate contracting by electronic means, but are not bound to do so for some land deals, guarantees, and contracts governed by family or succession law, and contracts involving the courts and public authorities.