Impact of Legislation on Design of E-Commerce Systems―An Exploratory Study

摘要

Development of Internet and e-commerce has posed new challenges to the law in an unprecedented way. Both scholars and legislators are searching for ways to respond to this new e-commerce environment. One of main purposes of imposing regulations is to protect consumers. When legislative efforts are focused on things like electronic signatures, the regulation is for the benefit of all participating parties. Taxing policies, on the other hand, are meant to ensure the fair distribution of wealth. However, the changes in the business environment due to the emergence of e-commerce is going to have a significant impact on how we are going to design e-commerce systems in future. It is thus imperative to study the impact of the legal environment on e-commerce.