The UK government is determined to get tough with on-line fraud
and aims to make the UK the safest place for e-commerce by 2005,
according to Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson. The Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that it will make £0.5
million available for nine e-commerce projects.
One of the projects will be a study exploring whether consumer
debt has been aggravated by easy access to on-line loans and
finance. Another project will investigate dot.com chemists in the
UK and abroad that are selling potentially dangerous prescription
medicines.
Other projects will focus on access to the internet via digital
TV services and will also investigate the use of unfair standard
terms in on-line contracts to ensure that consumers are protected
as effectively as in the high street.
The initiatives will receive funding under the DTI’s
Modernisation Fund, that aims to boost consumer protection in a
variety of ways including supporting enforcement and safety
projects, performance standards and information to consumers and
businesses.
