Standards Development

Scope

This document proposes an “8663” system about the principles and framework for e-commerce transaction assurance, including eight major principles, six subsystems, six stakeholders and three stages of transaction processes.

This document applies to:

— Organizations and individuals engaged in e-commerce transactions;

— Consumers seeking protection in e-commerce transactions;

— Various organizations committed to e-commerce transaction assurance;

— Drafters of relevant standards.

Purpose

This document aims to respond to the needs of international e-commerce development and clarify the requirements and responsibilities of various stakeholders in e-commerce activities by synthesizing the common requirements of laws and regulations in fields of international e-commerce. A set of principles and framework of transaction assurance in e-commerce are proposed to lay the foundation of developing high-quality international standards for ISO / TC 321.

- Justification

1. Principles are required to clarify the responsibilities and objectives of e-commerce stakeholders. Studies and reports of many international organizations (such as OECD, UNCTAD) have revealed different levels of problems in e-commerce transactions. These include difficulties with refunds, fake or inferior goods, slow delivery, network fraud, overlord clauses, false promotion, difficulties with returning or exchanging goods, logistical chaos, malicious fines, and information disclosure. These problems are closely related to the fact that the standardization and management of transaction assurance in ecommerce fall behind the development of e-commerce. Thus it is recommended to establish principles of transaction assurance in e-commerce for stakeholders to clarify their responsibilities and objectives.

2. An integrated framework is needed to meet the requirements of e-commerce transaction assurance for all countries. Countries active in E-commerce have been formulating relevant policies and regulations in the field of e-commerce, reaching a high level of consensus on national e-commerce management. For instance, the United States enacted the Consumer Review Freedom Act in 2016, and China implemented the Electronic Commerce Act in 2019. Proposing the framework of standards of e-commerce transaction assurance, based on the principles of e-commerce transaction assurance and the common requirements of e-commerce laws and regulations in different countries, is beneficial to study and develop abundant and widely-recognized international standards.

3. Clear principles and reasonable frameworks are demanded for developing high-level international standards of transaction assurance in e-commerce. Transaction assurance in e-commerce needs to cover all stakeholders involved in the e-commerce activities and the whole process including pre-transaction, in-transaction and post-transaction phase. Establishing clear principles and proposing reasonable frameworks enable all stakeholders and transaction process to develop effective standards to deal with practical problems in e-commerce transaction assurance. Only a system which consists of a series of standards can fulfil the requirements of e-commerce transaction in a full-scale and whole-process manner. FORM 4 – New Work Item Proposal