Laws of the Internet
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The laws of the internet and their benefit and limitations on E-commerce.
Although the internet has been such a popular platform for businesses, it comes with both benefits and disadvantages. The internet is no longer safe for everyone. This has led to development of laws that help regulate the usage of the internet. Businesses and individuals are required to adhere to these regulations while using the internet. As a result of these regulation, businesses are restricted to only particular activities. E-commerce businesses in particular are affected by these regulations. Violation of these laws comes with related penalties compelling the business to observe them (Gringras & Lambert, 2015).
On the other hand, businesses are protected from data breach events as a result of these regulations. Without these regulations, business and individuals are subject to data loss and compromise. With cyber security becoming a heated concern in the recent times, businesses risk losing sensitive data to malicious people. With internet regulations, both business and customer data is safe from theft and misuse. There are numerous laws covering the Internet all pertaining data security and protection of privacy. The Privacy Act is the arguably the foundation of the internet laws (Gringras & Lambert, 2015).
Rapid availability of the national and international (information) offer a better platform for business operation. The use of the internet for business increases Convenience, and ease of use for e-commerce platforms. For instance, the proliferation of e-commerce businesses such as Walmart, and Amazon and their continued success portrays the benefits of conducting business over the internet. It also provides the Possibility of exchanging information between businesses and consumers. However, the Internet laws limit internet freedom for business and individuals. There are also regulations regarding sharing of information over international scale. This deprives e-commerce business the liberty of just sharing anything over the internet.
There are still disadvantages of the internet. Data protection, and data security issues have become prevalent in the recent times. It has become a fertile ground for illegal business due to a lack of legal position. Many businesses have become victims of hackers and cyber criminals. This creates fear among businesses and most of the m withdrawn from using the internet.
It is the responsibility of the providers to assess all content on their website as to whether they are development-impairing for people of a certain population. If this is the case, the website or the content in question must be designed in such a way that the age group concerned usually does not perceive the website or the content. This responsibility encompasses all online offers, from one’s own homepage via YouTube channels, Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts to content that is disseminated for smartphones, iPads etc. This limits business from accessing certain customers.
These also play a major role in protecting consumers from false advertising. These include the spread of propaganda, the use of swastikas and the depiction of children or adolescents in unnaturally gendered posture. All offers included in the law of the Federal Test Center for Media Harmful to consumers must not be disseminated on the Internet. Offers that are relevant under criminal law and content that is harmful to consumers and that fulfill the circumstances listed by law must not be disseminated. I these way, business are limited to only make advertisements that are true and also compelled to own the responsibility of false adverts made on their behalf (Stuckey & Ellis, 2019).
The strict compliance policy makes many business refrain from using ecommerce in their operations. But in the lime light, there are more advantages as a result of internet regulations that there are disadvantages. Compliance with data security and internet laws is beneficial for individual consumers and business while shopping online. This limits business on the type and amount of personal customer information collected.
References
Gringras, C., & Lambert, P. (2015). The laws of the Internet. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Stuckey, K. D., & Ellis, R. L. (2019). Internet and online law. Law Journal Press.