Exercise 2
Governing Electronic Commerce
Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer
on a people, is in
almost every country unpopular. Thomas B. Macaulay On
Mitford's History of Greece. 1824.
Protectionism and tariffs are concepts around which world trade treaties are anchored. Only governments can enter binding treaties for national interest. Electronic commerce is foremost a "process" and as such, like any process, must be controlled to maintain growth and quality. What should the role of American government be in addressing issues of electronic commerce policy or legal redress?
Read "Shaping the Internet Age" by Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corp.
Read "The Commerce Clause in Cyberspace"
(http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/legal_issues/legal_activities/policy_papers/commerceclause.html)
Read "Is More Government Regulation Needed to Promote E-Commerce?"
Question: Should the U.S. government take a regulatory or contractual approach to foster the digital economy? State at least one compelling reason for each approach regardless of a possible bias for no regulation at all. [Remember--color outside the lines--limit your opinion to 100-150 words].
Supplementary Reading
A Euorpean Initiative in Electronic Commerce
Send me an e-mail with your reasoned response (200-300 words).
Send to:ajbolla@gmail.com This is the e-mail I use to receive your work product.
Use "subject" line: ilaw2governing
Include your personal identification information in any answer you "attach" to e-mail, otherewise you may not get full credit for your answer.