Legislation necessary to help build consumer confidence

For e-commerce to continue to grow, consumers and businesses must believe they are as protected when they shop online as when they are buying goods in a store.

This is according to Head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ICT policy section, Torbjörn Fredriksson, during the launch of the UNCTAD’s Global Cyberlaw Tracker.

This first ever global mapping of cyberlaws tracks the state of e-commerce legislation in the field of e-transactions, consumer protection, data protection/privacy and
cybercrime adoption in the 194 UNCTAD member states.

It indicates whether or not a given country has adopted legislation, or has a draft law pending adoption. In some instances where information about a country’s legislation adoption was not readily available, ‘no data’ is indicated.

The tracker shows that Barbados has legislation in three areas: Electronic Transactions, Consumer Protection and Cybercrime. However, draft legislation in the area
of Privacy and Data Protection.

“And part of building consumer confidence is putting the necessary legislation in place,” he stressed.

“The cyberlaw tracker helps us identify where laws are lacking so that the UN and other partners can work with governments to build the kind of legal environment ensures online business is secure.”

The map shows, for example, that only 58% of countries report having data protection and privacy laws. And when it comes to laws protection consumers online, the number drops to 52%.

The Global Cyberlaw Tracker uses data collected through UNCTAD research and by its partners, including the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Council of Europe, the International Telecommunication Union, the UN Commission on International Trade Law, the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Africa, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank.