1. E-Commerce: Regulatory, Ethical, and Social Environments
Chapter 15
E-Commerce:
Regulatory, Ethical, and Social Environments

2. Learning Objectives
Understand the foundations for legal and ethical issues in EC.
Describe intellectual property law and understand its adjudication.
Explain privacy and free speech issues and their challenges.
Describe types of fraud on the Internet and how to protect against them.
Describe the needs and methods of protecting both buyers and sellers.
Describe EC-related societal issues.
Describe Green EC and IT.
Describe the future of e-commerce.

3. Ethical Challenges and Guidelines
Ethical Principles and Guidelines
Example: Who Owns User-Generated Content?
* Business Ethics
The Issues of Internet Abuse in the Workplace
Managing Internet Abuse
Monitoring Employees—Is It Ethical?

4. Ethical Challenges and Guidelines
EC Ethical and Legal Issues
Intellectual property rights
Privacy
Free speech versus censorship
Consumer and merchant protection against fraud
Internet Use That Is Not Work-Related
Code of Ethics

5. Intellectual Property Law and Copyright Infringement
Intellectual Property In E-Commerce
*Intellectual property (IP)
* Intellectual Property Law
Copyright Infringement and Protection
*Copyright
*Copyright infringement
File Sharing
Legal Aspects of Infringement
*The RIAA Industry Versus the Violators
*Digital Rights Management (DRM)
*Fair use
*Patents
Trademarks
*Trademark dilution

6. Intellectual Property Law and Copyright Infringement
Fan and Hate Sites
*Cyberbashing

7. Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech
Social Networks Changing the Landscape of Privacy and Its Protection
Information Pollution and Privacy
Global View
Privacy Rights and Protection
*Opt-In and *Opt-Out
Some Measures of Privacy Protection

8. Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech
Free Speech Online Versus Privacy Protection
Free Speech Online Versus Child Protection Debate
The Price of Protecting an Individual’s Privacy

9. Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech
How Information About Individuals Is Collected and Used Online
Website Registration
Cookies
Spyware as a Threat to Privacy and Intellectual Property
*Spyware
RFID’s Threat to Privacy
Other Methods
Monitoring Employees

10. Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech
Privacy Protection by Information Technologies
Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P)
Encryption
Spam blocking
Spyware blocking
Cookie managers
Anonymous and surfing
Privacy Policies

11. Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech
Privacy Issues in Web 2.0 Tools and Social Networks
Presence, Location-Based Systems, and Privacy
Privacy Protection by Ethical Principles
The USA PATRIOT Act Versus Privacy
Government Spying on Its Citizens
P3P Privacy Platform
*Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P)
Privacy Protection in Countries Other Than the United States

12. How P3P Works

13. Other EC Legal Issues Selected Legal and Regulatory Environment:
E-Discovery and Cyberbullying
*Electronic discovery (e-discovery)
E-Discovery and Social Networks
*Cyberbullying
Sample of Other Issues

14. Consumer and Seller Protection from Online Fraud
Consumer (Buyer) Protection
Representative Tips and Sources for Your Protection
Third-Party Assurance Services
Protection by a Third-Party Intermediary
TRUSTe’s “Trustmark
Better Business Bureau
Which?
Web Trust Seal and Others
Evaluation by Consumers
*The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)

15. Consumer and Seller Protection from Online Fraud
What Can Sellers Do?
Protecting Both Buyers And Sellers: Using Electronic Signatures and Other Security Features
*Electronic signature
Authentication
Fraud Detecting Systems

16. Public Policy, Taxation, and Political Environments
*Net Neutrality
Taxation of EC Transactions and Digital Content
Internet Censorship by Countries
*Internet censorship

17. Societal Issues and Green EC
The *Digital Divide
Overcoming the Digital Divide
*Telecommuting
GREEN EC and IT
Operating Greener Businesses, Eco-Friendly Data Centers, and Cloud Computing
*Green computing
*Green IT
How to Operate Greener Businesses, Data Centers, and Supply Chains
Global Green Regulations
The *Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)

18. Societal Issues and Green EC
Other Societal Issues
Education
Public Safety, Surveillance, and Homeland Security
Health Aspects
Make Cities More Livable

19. The Future of E-Commerce
Integrating the Marketplace with the Marketspace
M-Commerce
Social Commerce
Future Technological Trends That May Accelerate the Speed of E-Commerce

20. The Future of E-Commerce
Future Trends That Are Limiting EC Spread
Security concerns
Lack of net neutrality
Copyright complaints
Lack of standards
Enjoy Some Interesting Videos About the Future of E-Commerce

21. Managerial Issues
What legal and ethical issues are of concern in an EC initiative?
What are the most critical ethical issues?
How can intellectual property rights be protected when it comes to digital content?
How can a patent in EC be purchased?
What is the ethical principle of protecting the privacy of customers?
How can a company create opportunities in the global trend toward green EC?

22. Summary
Understanding legal and ethical challenges and how to contain them.
Intellectual property law
Privacy, free speech, defamation, and their challenges.
Fraud on the Internet and how to protect consumers against it.
Protection of buyers and sellers.
Societal impacts of EC.
Green EC.
The future of EC.