White House To Release Internet Commerce Report
by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

United States President Bill Clinton and U.S. Vice President Al Gore will ask executives from major technology companies like Cisco Systems Inc., legislators, and government officials to boost the Internet as a global marketplace. The request will come this Monday.

The Clinton administration will use the White House media event as a backdrop in its efforts to encourage companies to expand their electronic commerce. However, critics of the administration's plans say the government and industry aren't doing enough to protect the privacy rights of consumers who buy online.

Approximately $13 Billion in sales will be transacted online this year. Almost 9 million households will have shopped online by the end of this year, and most critics agree that the major reason more people don't shop online is the perception of a lack of privacy and security during online transactions.

Toward that end, Clinton's top Internet adviser, Ira Magaziner will release a report on White House Internet initiatives and recommend further steps in several areas, including beefing up privacy protections.

Electronic commerce, e-commerce, is doubling each year. But of the ITrain members who've participated in our studies, most agree that their adult students fear credit card fraud or worse if they were to order consumer products online.

It's vital that we explain to our class participants the near-absolute security of online payment transactions. The opportunity for misuse is no greater than in any other face-to-face purchase transaction.

To help the administration's efforts, a subsidiary of the Better Business Bureau will initiate a program to verify the privacy policies of websites."The administration recognizes the importance of online commerce to American competitiveness," said Russell Bodoff, chief operating officer of BBBOnLine.

ITrain's website is itrain.org
BBBOnLine's website is www.bbbonline.org

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updated November 26, 1998
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