e2001 Your Digital Future - Bangkok Post Special Supplement

GOVERNMENT POLICY

E-commerce law not yet passed

Boosting confidence desperately needed

Sasiwimon Boonruang

Though the Electronic Commerce Law passed its second and third reading in Parliament on September 27, the law was not considered by the Senate, and thus Thailand must wait for at least six months before the law is endorsed.

Science, Technology and Environment Minister Arthit Ourairat admitted that it was unfortunate for the country that there were no laws supporting the electronic business. Thailand has missed a crucial opportunity, he said, and this has impacted the business sector as a whole.

Association of Thai Computer Industry (ATCI) Honorary President Manoo Ordeedolchest said that the more delays there were, the more business confidence would be destroyed.

The e-commerce law would allow electronic documents to be used as evidence in court proceedings. The law would also mean that e-signatures would be as legally binding as handwritten signatures for e-commerce transactions. However, it does not mandate what technology businesses must use to implement e-signatures. For example, when a person goes to an e-commerce web site and uses their ID and password before making a purchase, they will automatically enter into an agreement with the company.

"Even though it is not a secure transaction, it is an agreement by two parties and automatically legal by law. If there is something wrong, the shopper has to prove whether it was their order or not," Mr Manoo said.

The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court Deputy Chief Justice, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, said the number of e-transactions would most likely rise once the law was in place. Therefore, related laws, such as the computer crime and privacy laws, must be drafted as soon as possible.

"Basically, the e-commerce law is about assumption and evidence. It would leave the onus on users to prove that they were _ or were not _ the person who conducted the electronic transaction should a case be brought to court," he said.

The draft law, called the Electronic Commerce Law, is a revised version, and is a combination of the previous Electronic Funds Law and Electronic Signatures Law. It was rewritten to remove concerns about too much government control over electronic commerce and to clarify some of the sections. "Basically, the scrutinising committee agreed to change the responsibility of the e-commerce committee so that it just regulates e-signatures," said Mr Manoo.

The committee also agreed to limit the scope of the government to issuing executive orders relating to e-commerce. One remaining concern was the Thai terminology for "electronic signatures", which has been a source of confusion for non-IT users.

Earlier, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai remarked that the Electronic Commerce laws and the Electronics Fund Transfer law would be announced by the end of this year.

He noted that the e-commerce laws were important since they not only boost confidence in electronic transactions, but were also part of the e-commerce infrastructure.

"If we do not have the laws, it will be a big obstacle for the country in the development of e-commerce. Having digital signature and EDI laws will help businesses work with more convenience," he said, adding the government had to have an IT policy and to build up IT infrastructure to support IT exploitation.

The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) was assigned a year ago to draft e-commerce laws and laws related to e-commerce including laws on Electronic Commerce, Electronic Signature, Computer Crime, Electronic Funds Transfer, Universal Access and Data Protection.

According to Nectec, all of the e-commerce laws are planned to be effective within the year 2001.

To date, the drafts of the laws are in the process of being studied by subcommittees devoted to each law. The subcommittees comprise both private and government entities such as the Thai Police Department, the Customs Department, Business Economics Department of the Commerce Ministry, Thai Chamber of Commerce and Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). The laws were drafted to follow the recommendations from the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

According to Nectec, it used the UNICITRAL and EC laws of other countries such as the United States, Malaysia and Germany as models for the laws.

E-COMMERCE FRAMEWORK

In October of this year, the draft of the electronic commerce framework proposed by Nectec was approved by the Council of Economic Ministers. The framework, which will be a part of the National IT 2004, will have to be approved by the Cabinet before it can be announced as the national electronic commerce policy.

According to Nectec's Electronic Commerce Resource Centre director Dr Pichet Durongkaveroj, the framework will provide a clear direction and help both government agencies and private companies to develop e-commerce along the same lines. By the terms of the framework, the government will be responsible for taking measures to facilitate e-commerce usage and development in Thailand through five key policies.

First, the government will set forth e-commerce as a national trade strategy that must be endorsed in part of the National 9th and 10th Economic and Social Development Plans. E-commerce will be mainly developed to boost exports and encourage domestic consumption.

Second, the government will support and facilitate the public and private sectors in e-commerce by enhancing competitiveness on global trading, and building trust and confidence among entrepreneurs and consumers. The legal infrastructure and security will be established as e-commerce fundamentals.

Third, the government will facilitate e-commerce transactions by eliminating official regulations which are e-commerce barriers, and encourage fair competition and provide consumer protection in the new trading system.

Fourth, the government itself will reform its official systems with electronic media and IT to achieve an "electronic-government".

Fifth, by cooperation with the private sector, the government will implement a database system and study international e-commerce trends to make Thailand proactive in global and regional trade negotiations.