New regulations to implement the E-commerce Directive in UK law
were laid before Parliament yesterday. The regulations are due to
come into effect on 21st August, missing the EU’s deadline for
implementation of the Directive by over seven months.
The new Regulations follow a period of public consultation by
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Treasury on the
UK’s approach to implementing the Directive. They will be made
available on Friday from the Department of Trade and Industry’s web
site.
A spokesman for the DTI told OUT-LAW.COM that only minor
amendments have been made to the draft Regulations released for
consultation, however no details were given.
E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms said:
“After extensive and detailed consultations, we have arrived at the
right framework for UK businesses and consumers… The E-Commerce
regulations are another important step towards making the UK the
best place in the world to do e-commerce.”
The regulations include provisions for:
- the national law that will apply to on-line services;
- the information an on-line service provider must give a
consumer, including discounts and offers in on-line advertising and
how to conclude contracts on-line; and
- limitations on service providers’ liability for unlawful
information they unwittingly carry or store.
The E-Commerce Directive was passed in June 2000 and was due to
be implemented by Member States before 17th January 2002. Only
three of the EU’s Member States met this deadline.
