Mar 6 - Mar 9, 1998

Dear colleagues,
Hello. My name is R.M. 'Chick' Hayden. I am Director of the Information Infrastructure Standandards Panel (IISP), sponsored by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in the U.S. IISP's mission is to identify the critical standards needed to implement the GII, with electronic commerce being one of the most pivotal applications. Since most industries tended to focus on standards for their respective sectors, a need was seen to facilitate a cross-industry focus to facilitate the interconnection and interoperability among the many converging industries in the GII (computer, telecommunications, cable, etc.) and, hence IISP. Basic to IISP's mission is sharing results with other national, regional and international organizations to facilitate the global efforts toward the GII. Those interested can see IISP results at www.ansi.org/iisp/

I regret that I have not been able to contribute earlier, but have read the many contributions by others and would like to thank the participants for their thoughtful insights. I will not be replying to any particular email, but would like to share a few ideas regarding electronic commerce that I feel are important to facilitating continued growth in this exciting area. Many of these thoughts resulted from the Global Information Society Conference in October, 1997, where I was Rapporteur for the Electronic Commerce Workshop, and I hasten to acknowledge the contributions of others in the following:

Establishing a global legal and regulatory framework:
- Electronic Commerce certainly requires harmonization to ensure transactions don't stop at borders due to incompatible systems. Governments can assist in helping create global interoperability, and that should be done in close cooperation with the private sector. However, the focus should be on resolving problems in conflicting systems and avoid the temptation to create some type of global legal/regulatory framework as another layer of bureaucracy that could stifle the pace of progress being achieved by the private sector.

Market Developments:
- The Electronic Commerce market should be self-regulated and private sector driven.
- Consumer Acceptance: Growth in electronic commerce will be determined by consumer acceptance, just as in other markets. There must be advantages for consumers to use electronic commerce vs prior methods or growth won't occur - the fact something is technologically possible isn't enough. Key to consumer acceptance will be consumer awareness (education required in product introductions) and ease of use.

Trust:
- This is essential for consumer acceptance, and security and privacy are two key areas that consumers much be confident of.
- There has been much discussion of how to create an environment of trust on the part of consumers, some inferring trust must somehow be created in advance as a precondition to acceptance of electronic commerce. I don't believe that's the case. While providers of products and services can inform consumers on their security levels, actual consumer experience will establish their level of trust.

Technology:
- There are many technologies already available to facilitate security and other needed Electronic Commerce functions (e.g., encryption, public key cryptography, digital signatures, billing and payment technologies, etc.). These and other technologies are evolving and should be allowed to continue to do so by avoiding selecting one solution in a given area that would impede developments of others. Alternate solutions should be allowed to develop and be employed. As long as they are interoperable, which technologies are used shouldn't be a matter for regulation or any other control mechanism.
- Standardizing too early in any technology area should be avoided so that technological development isn't stifled.

Interoperability:
- This is the key ingredient needed for successful global Electronic Commerce. There need not be single standardized solutions as long as they are interoperable. That is true of national legal and regulatory frameworks as well as the various products and services offered.
- Standards must focus on the interface to facilitate interconnection and interoperability, not on the implementation. The private sector must be allowed to apply creative energies to a variety

of solutions, which will evolve, just as technology will.

I will stop there to avoid being as lengthy as I was late in participating. My thanks to Jim Johnson and the many others for the excellent job in creating and facilitating a very interesting dialogue. I would like to continue to participate and will contribute as appropriate.

To DigSig and others:

I have received word that last weekend Bernard Wheble passed away, peacefully, at (or near) the age of 93. His funeral in London is today.

I realize many on this list may not know Bernard; however his contributions to electronic commerce and to our work today are deserving of recognition by this group. I am surely not the best spokesperson as to his accomplishments but I would like to try to convey, however inadequate my efforts, his importance to realizing the potential for global electronic commerce.

In 1963, Bernard became involved with the International Chamber of Commerce Banking Commission and through his leadership, the first edition of the Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary Credits (UCP) was finalized. He continued to serve as chair of the Commission or chair emeritus through the following decades, and was a visionary advocate for the need to accommodate electronic documents within both the scope of the UCP and throughout all of international trade.

For many of us deeply involved with facilitating global electronic commerce, the UCP has remained the hallmark of how the private sector can effectively develop a regulatory framework for commercial transactions that is functional in a global space. The process requires hard work; it requires skill in developing consensus and making artful compromises among all relevant stakeholders and, often, it requires tenacity. These were attributes of which Bernard Wheble was an extraordinary example.

Through the decades, Bernard Wheble, by his conduct and his accomplishments, taught so many of us the skills required to truly make constructive progress in building an integrated framework of rules to support global electronic commerce. Our own struggles today only highlight how skillful his own abilities. Even those who opposed his tactics or his positions could not help but admire his effectiveness. Through the years he traveled extensively, patiently advocating and teaching the reforms in trade finance that could be accomplished by private sector solutions. In his consistent conduct as a gentleman, Bernard Wheble was always a model for the qualities of global citizenship.

So often we think of the problems we grapple with as 'new' issues that arise with the new technologies; allow me to salute Bernard's vision by noting that his essays from the late 1970's identified many of the issues that remain unresolved today. In particular, his paper in 1983 entitled 'The Legal Problems in the Use of Automated Data Processing in International Trade' remains perhaps the most cogent definition of the challenges-a work in clarity and focus that I continue to recommend.

Please take a moment to honor Bernard Wheble; may our histories not overlook his vital, significant contributions to electronic commerce and international trade.

Following is a summary of points discussed in the parallel Japanese Online Conference.

26th February to 4th March
B to B discussions were summarised as follows. (1) It is a little too early for class D. Class C and A are progressing.
(2) There appears to be an insurmountable obstacle in one company with regard to the shift to an open (to either B or D) situation. It seems that something like a platform is required. At an individual enterprise level, for the time being, the shift will likely be from A to C.

Firstly, let's review the classifications.
                       Closed     Open
Orders received only     A          B
Others included          C          D

The key to the formation of a community is information. Firstly, we need to be able to supply information, without seeking to do business. The creation of a site where people will gather is the vital first step in the development of EC. You first have to lead people to the entrance to EC. That's why the key to developing EC in Japan is to get at people through all the new forms of interface, such as TV, computers, kiosks, PDA, car navigation, etc.

There were also discussions on the topic of 'reliability' with regard to sales.