CONSUMERS IN THE ONLINE MARKETPLACE

OECD WORKSHOP ON THE GUIDELINES: ONE YEAR LATER

Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Berlin, Germany, 13-14 March 2001

DAY ONE: Tuesday, 13 March 2001

WELCOMING REMARKS

• Alfred TACKE , Secretary of State, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Germany
  
• Alexander MUELLER, Secretary of State, Federal Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Agriculture, Germany
  
• John DRYDEN, Head of Division, Information, Computer and Communications Policy Division, OECD
  

INTRODUCTION

Jytte OELGAARD, Chair, Committee on Consumer Policy, OECD

I. STATUS OF CONSUMER ONLINE SHOPPING

Business-to-Consumer Statistics
John DRYDEN, OECD ( presentation/ paper)

Examples of Consumer Complaints from Consumer Sentinel
Michael DONOHUE, ( presentation) Federal Trade Commission, United States

Examples of Consumer Complaints from the WebTrader Scheme
Michelle CHILDS, ( presentation) Consumers Association, United Kingdom

Measures of Consumer Empowerment Online
David FARES, ( presentation) U.S. Council for International Business, United States

II. GUIDELINES IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES

Country Presentation 1
Michael JENKIN, ( presentation ) Industry Canada, Canada

Country Presentation 2
Merja SAARI, ( presentation) Consumer Agency, Finland

Country Presentation 3
Maria REIFFENSTEIN, ( presentation) Consumer Protection Directorate, Ministry of Justice, Austria

Country Presentation 4
Hyung Wook KANG ( presentation), Ministry of Finance and Economy, Korea

III. CASE STUDIES: CONSUMER ONLINE TRANSACTIONS

This session used case studies to simulate and explore a consumer's interaction with a commercial web site from the moment of logging-on to the completion of a transaction (including the internal mechanisms available to resolve a consumer's complaints). The interaction was examined based on the principles of the OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce. The examination also included exploration of merchant/website's adherence to codes of conduct, and membership in trustmark, self-regulatory and co-regulatory programmes, where relevant.

The case studies were interactive and presented as sample sales that encourage a panel comprised of consumer, business and government representatives to simultaneously interact and ask questions throughout the sample transaction.

Interactive Case Study 1 (see general description above)

Moderator: Martin BOND, Department of Trade and Industry, United Kingdom

Presenter: Joëlle FREUNDLICH, Cegetel SA, France. Presenting: two sites that are members of ACSEL (Association for online commerce and services) ( www.afcee.com ) (www. aquarelle.com, www.chapitre.com )

Panellists:

• Nathalie ST. PIERRE, Action reseau consommateur, Canada
  
• Tore MALTERUD, Ministry of Children and Family Affairs, Norway

Interactive Case Studies 2 and 3

This case study began with a presentation by Consumers International of its preliminary findings of consumers@shopping II and was followed by case studies based on a collection of real life experiences of consumers shopping online. The real life examples emphasised both the effective and ineffective ways Web sites have implemented the Guidelines.

Moderator: Carmel FOLEY, Office of Consumer Affairs, Ireland

Presenters:

• Anna FIELDER ( presentation), Consumers International
  
• Naja FELTER (presentation), Consumers International
  
• Kate SCRIBBINS (presentation), Consumers International
  
• Robert MAYER, ( presentation) American Council on Consumer Interests, United States

Panellists:

• Hubert VAN BREEMEN, Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), The Netherlands
  
• Yvonne STEIN, Ministry of Justice, Sweden
  Remarks by CCP Chair

Cocktail, co-sponsored by Daimler Chrysler AG, AOL Time Warner and Confederation of
Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW)

DAY TWO : Wednesday, 14 March 2001

INTRODUCTION AND OPENING REMARKS

Jytte OELGAARD, Chair, Committee on Consumer Policy, OECD

Interactive Case Study 4 (see general description above)

Moderator: Keith MANCH, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, New Zealand

Presenter: Pamela TAYLOR, ( presentation) Confederation of British Industry. Presenting: TrustUK and CBI study ( www.trustuk.org.uk ), United Kingdom

Panellists:

• Dirk KLASEN, Association of Consumer Organisations, Germany
  
• Maria BRACHO GONZALEZ, Federal Consumer Protection Agency, Mexico
  

Interactive Case Study 5 (see general description above)

Moderator: Keith MANCH, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, New Zealand

Presenter: Chris ISRAEL, ( presentation) AOL Time Warner. Presenting: AOL's certified merchants program ( www.aol.com ), United States

Panellists:

• Alison HOPKINS, National Consumer Council, United Kingdom
  
• Petra SMITS, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands
  

IV. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

This session explored innovative means to educate, on a global scale, consumers,
businesses and governments about consumer protection in the online environment.
Representatives of consumer organisations, businesses and governments were invited to
present their activities in this area.

Moderator: Brigitte LE TAVERNIER, Ministère de l'économie, des finances et de
l'industrie, France

Presenters:

• Kellie COSGROVE ( presentation), International Marketing Supervision Network (IMSN)
  
• Constanze PICKING ( presentation), DaimlerChrysler and GBDe Working Group on Consumer Confidence, Germany
• Chuck BELL ( presentation ), Consumers Union, United States

V. GLOBAL CO-OPERATION: UTILISING INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION TO EXTEND THE REACH OF THE GUIDELINES

The purpose of this session was to explore Guidelines-related activities based on global-co-operative efforts. Presentations included information on Internet sweep days, as well as co-operative activities with other fora in an effort to better understand what can be done to extend the benefits of the Guidelines beyond OECD. This session also included discussion of cases that have been brought by governments as a result of global co-operation of law enforcement agencies in an effort to explore what can be done to further encourage co-operation, and facilitate communication.

Moderator: Alexander TETTENBORN, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Germany

Presenters:

• Mozelle THOMPSON, Federal Trade Commission, United States
  
• Kenji NAGAMATSU, ( presentation ) Cabinet Office, Japan
  
• Vanessa HOLLIDAY ( presentation / paper), International Marketing Supervision
  Network (IMSN)

VI. NEXT STEPS

This session was conducted as a moderated discussion among the audience participants. The Chair and the Secretariat acted as moderators, taking questions from the audience and inviting responses from the audience as well. There was no panel. Questions to focus the discussion included participants' views on:

• The status of implementation of the Guidelines.
• How new innovative business models and the nature of the Internet might allow
  businesses to provide more effective protection.
• Whether there are gaps in protection and where necessary, what can be done to
  close the gaps.
• What can be done to further build consensus on international consumer protection
  laws.

The purpose of the discussion was to advise the Committee on Consumer Policy on its future work in the area of protecting consumers in the global marketplace. The session concluded with brief remarks by the Secretariat and the Chair.

Moderators:

• Jytte OELGAARD, Chair, Committee on Consumer Policy, OECD
• Risaburo NEZU, Director, Directorate for Science Technology and Industry, OECD

The audience served as the discussants. There were no presentations and no panellists.

Conclusion of the Workshop

 

Related Documents

 

First Report: Government and Private Sector Initiatives to Promote and Implement the OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce

Inventory of Consumer Protection Laws, Policies and Practices Applied to Electronic Commerce

Cross-border Co-operation in Combatting Cross-border Fraud: The US/Canadian Experience

OECD Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce (1999)