WELCOME TO THIS PRESENTATION

ON

E-COMMERCE –I4JORGANISED BY THE NIGERIAN INTERNET GROUP (NIG)

TOPIC: E-COMMERCE – INTERNET FOR JOBS (I4J) – THE LINKAGES

PRESENTATION BY

CHRIS UWAJE (Fncs)

CEO CONNECT TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

VENUE: GOLDEN GATE RESTAURANT, IKOYI, LAGOS, NIGERIA

DATE: THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008.

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION

2. E-COMMERCE: GLOBAL TRENDS AND LINKAGES

3. LEGAL PERSPECTIVES & HOW TO COMPETE

4.SUMMARY

WHAT IS E-COMMERCE

&

HOW DOES IT FUNCTION?

……………………………………………………………..

THERE ARE MANY PERSPECTIVES OF LOOKING AT AND UNDERSTANDING E-COMMERCE.

SOME VIEW IT AS INTERNET/ONLNE ACTIVITY ONLY

OTHERS VIEW IT AS A MIXED BAG OF IT AND NONE-IT BASED INTERNET ACTIVITIES

WHILE OTHERS VIEW IT AS A PROFESSIONAL AND SPECIALISED ONLINE PROJECT ACTIVITIES

WHAT EXERTLY IS E-COMMERCE?

First, The e-commerce workforce is a large, indistinct mass of working people that overlaps and blends gradually into other sectors of the

economy, such as information technology, manufacturing, and retail.

• E-Commerce Definitional Problem• Part of the problem is definition—what is it? • Does it consist only of workers at the so-called "dot-

coms"—firms that derive 95 percent or more of their revenues from business on the World Wide Web but that, according to a study by the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce (CREC), make up a mere 9.6 percent of the Internet economy?

• OR………………………………………………

Or should it include workers at any company that produce anything for the Internet, that do any business online, or that have any Web

presence?The US government for example lumps e-commerce workers in with the

Information Technology (IT) sector, which includes:

• Manufacturers of computers, computer parts, • software, and components; • software and applications

developers; • database managers; • hardware and software

engineers;• as well as the Internet,

But tracks only "core IT" workers, namely computer scientists and engineers, systems analysts, and computer programmers.

But what about people who design the marketing

campaigns, write the Web site content and pack the boxes at

Amazon.com ?

According to a 2001 study done by the CREC at the University of Texas, in mid-2000 the Internet economy supported 3.08 million workers,

This number is larger than the insurance (2.36 million) or real estate (1.5 million) industries.

Based on a 2001 study done by the CREC at the University of Texas, in mid-2000 the Internet economy supported 3.08 million workers, a number

larger than the insurance (2.36 million) or real estate (1.5 million) industries.

The CREC further broke down the Internet economy into four constituent sectors:

• an infrastructure sector which employed 932,484;

• an application sector which employed 740,673;

• an intermediary sector which employed 468,689; and,

• an Internet commerce sector which employed a workforce of over 1.03 million.

• In 2000 dot.com s employed about 360,718.

• Despite Census Bureau metrics, e-commerce is more than IT jobs.

• According to the Web site Internet Economy Indicators, the highest percentage in 2000 of workers in e-commerce were in sales and marketing, who comprised 33 percent of the total e-commerce workforce.

E-COMMERCE TERMINOLOGIES:

Various terms are used to describe the electronic economy and its components. These include, but are not limited to, the digital economy, e-business, e-commerce, e-infrastructure, and even the“new economy.”

Digital Economy

The digital economy is comprised of e-commerce and information technology (IT)-producing and IT-using industries.

IT-producing industries include computer hardware, software/services, communications equipment, and communication services industries.

The Digital Industry is those industries measured by either of two measures: *** IT net capital stock as a share of total equipment stock OR

*** IT investment per employee.

E-business

E-business is any process that a business organization conducts over a computer-mediated network. Business organizations include any for-profit, governmental, or nonprofit entity.

Examples of online e-business processes include: purchasing, selling, vendor-managed inventory, production management, and logistics, as well as communication and support services, such as online training and recruiting.

Computer-mediated networks are electronically linked devices that communicate interactively over network channels. A variety of electronic devices can be linked,including computers, Internet-enabled cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and WebTV. Such links generally involve minimal human intervention.

Networks include the Internet, Intranets, Extranets, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) networks, and telecommunication networks. These networks may be either open or closed.

E-commerce Defined

“E-commerce is any transaction completed over a computer-mediated network that involves the transfer of

ownership or rights to use goods or services.”

Transactions occur within selected e-business processes (e.g., selling process) and are completed when the agreement between buyer and seller to transfer the ownership of, or rights to use, goods or services occurs over computer-mediatednetworks.

Electronic agreement, not payment, is the key determinant of an e-commerce transaction. No-cost transactions such as downloading free software available on the Internet are excluded.

Examples of e-commerce transactions include: Sales of books or CD-ROMs over the Internet, an electronic marketplace selling parts to another business, a manufacturing plant selling components to another plant within the company using the firm’s Intranet, and a manufacturer selling to a retailer over an EDI network.

The surveys of the Association of Internet Professionals' membership provide a partial breakdown of typical job titles

in e-business.

They include graphic designers, art directors, copywriters, Web designers, Web production and coding specialists,

project managers, content developers, systems administrators, multimedia specialists, technical support,

network engineers, database designers, and database administrators.

To these mostly Web-specific jobs can be added customer service people, warehouse clerks, shipping and receiving

help, accountants, human resources services departments, and virtually every other job title found in modern retail and corporate life. The message is…sooner or later, almost all

human activities will be e-Commerce-driven!!!

E-COMMERCE SURVEY

E-COMMERCE GROWTH

The Internet workforce grew rapidly through much of 2000.

During the first half of the year, it added 612,375 new workers, almost as much as entered the industry in all of 1999.

Employment in the Web economy grew at a remarkably faster pace during this period than in the economy as a whole.

It increased by 29 percent between the first quarter of 1999 and the first quarter of 2000, compared to a meager 6.9 percent for non-Internet workers.

As late as October 2000, companies were complaining of a serious shortage in skilled e-commerce help. However, the layoffs that accompanied the dot.com crash were already underway.

Between June 2000 and April 2001, according to CREC statistics, some 93,979 Internet workers lost their jobs, about 3 percent of the whole Web economy. They continued through the first half of 2001. It was not as bad as it at first seemed it might be. Dot.com s announced 87,795 layoffs; less than half that number actually lost their jobs, however—about 41,000 between were put out of work between October 2000 and July 2001.

E-Commerce in Nigeria: How to Move Forward

Legal Framework for the Introduction of E-Commerce

Adopted from Paul Usoro (SAN)

•Distinguishing factor between e-commerce and other transactions is the

electronic element.•Most existing laws and regulations do not provide for the electronic element in

e-transactions and that by itself necessitates the modification of the laws

and regulations to accommodate this element.

According to Paul Usoro (SAN)

E-Commerce Legal issues

E-Commerce Legal issues

• Primary vehicle for e-commerce is the Internet and Information technology and the legal framework must not only address the commercial aspect of the transaction but also the technology issues

• Nigeria currently does not have e-commerce specific legislation or bye-laws. Some existing legislation would however apply to Nigerian e-commerce, with some modifications of course.

What are the major issues

• Legislation and Bye-laws– Domain name registration regulations

– Consumer protection issues– Contract laws and regulations– Privacy laws and regulations

• Enforcement processes– Regulatory Process and agency

– Specialized Law Courts and practitioners

Domain Name Registration Regulations

• E-Mail is the major vehicle for e-commerce and e-mail is based on domain name registration.

• Domain name is a finite resource mainly because it depends on alphabets, numbers, dots and dashes and therefore requires efficient management.

Domain Name Registration Regulations

• Indian Courts have similarly ruled and enforced trademark and copyright claims by domain name owners, particularly against cyber-squatters.

• In Nigeria, we do have Copyright and trademark laws [no competition & Cyber laws yet]

Contract Laws [cont’d]

• Encryption and Digital signature provide the best method for guaranteeing the legality of documents– E-commerce documents must guarantee

• Authentication - that document was executed by the parties

• Integrity - document was not modified or tampered with between being sent and received

• Non-repudiation - parties cannot resile and deny document

• Confidentiality of document

Contract Laws [cont’d]

– Encryption takes care of confidentiality while digital signature ensures authentication, integrity and non-repudiation

– Third party authorities are necessary for certification - they keep the public key for the encryption

• Some administrations and businesses insist on back-up confirmations e.g. standard documents and signatures to confirm contract.

Contract Laws [cont’d]

• Nigeria’s Evidence Laws makes no provision for digital signatures and even admission of e-mail as documentary evidence, particularly when not signed.

• Public Key Infrastructure and Digital Certification authorities are currently e-Commerce missing Link and should to be established without further delay.

Privacy laws and regulations

• This is absolutely essential to protect parties in regard to publication of market survey details and information.

• In the processes of business transactions, it is customary for organisations to collate personal data of their customers and clients.

Privacy laws [cont’d]

• Nigeria has absolutely no privacy and personal information laws. This lacunae is even more material in an Internet world where information published on the web is open to a global audience.

• Different countries have laws that restrict release of personal information e.g.– Data subjects’ consent is required;– Data must be used for purposes for which they were

compiled;

Privacy laws [cont’d]

– Data user may request, free of cost, for blocking or rectification of inaccurate data or enforce remedy against breach of confidentiality;

– Processing of children’s data must have the consent of the parents and there must be verification of such consent through regular mail; and

– Strict criminal and pecuniary sanctions are imposed in the event of default.

Criminal laws

• Nigeria has none against Internet criminals e.g. cyber-squatters, hackers and virus & worms coders and manufacturers

• Breaches of some of the provisions in regard to e-commerce transactions should attract criminal sanctions e.g. breach of privacy laws

• Traditional definition of stealing may not cover electronic industrial espionage

Regulatory processes

– Fair business practices– Advertising and marketing practices– Disclosure of identity of business– Disclosure of terms and conditions of contract– Mechanism for conclusion of contracts– Customer dispute resolution processes– Privacy principles

Global jurisdiction

• Issues relating to e-commerce are virtually global in nature and require execution of international treaties between countries and formulation of model laws

• Some recent cases illustrate these issues – French Court’s decision in N@rt ruled that the

American company that was auctioning French art through Internet was in breach of French law which restricted French auction exclusively to French companies and individuals; and

Global jurisdiction [cont’d]

– French Court’s decision against Yahoo held that the American company infringed French law against public presentation of anti-semitic materials, since of course their web site was open and accessible to French audience !

• Issue of jurisdiction could consequently be a problematic issue in e-commerce transactions.

Specialised Law Courts and practitioners

• In order to adjudicate on e-commerce issues, one must be steeped in the intricacies and technical details of Communications and in particular, Information Technology and Internet

Specialised Law Courts and practitioners

• Practitioners and Courts must be specialists if justice must be done in the event of disputes

• So far, Nigerian High Courts seem to recognise specialisation only in the area of Maritime practice. Specialised divisions should be created for Communications & IT practice.

CONCLUSIONE-Commerce is an emerging technology-driven evolution. .

Its processes evolve from the very simple to the very complex. Therefore, there is a strategic need for a National e-Commerce Policy and Cyber-Crime and Cyber-Security.

It requires a critical mass of skilled capacities, state-of the art- ICT Infrastructure for universal access to Information and Knowledge to actualize productive quality development and sustainable growth.

Developing Countries can benefit immensely from the various windows of opportunities presented by E-Commerce to:

Improve the pathetic state of Youth Unemployment and the GDP, Citizens Education, Rural Health Care Delivery, Infotainment, Social , Cultural, Economic and Political Stability.

Alleviate Poverty and Improve Infant mortality rate

In other words, it is versatile instrument for global competitiveness, to leapfrog national development and the creation of wealth.