Taxation of e-Commerce - A Task For Jugglers

  E-commerce presents a radical transformation of the nature of commercialactivities; this creates significant challenges to regulations and tax formulas that arenot specifically directed towards the “virtual” commercial world. A particular areaof concern is the challenges posed by the growth of internet to current commercialand tax activities. This paper is going to identify the main challenges of assessing thetaxing of e-commerce activities. It discusses the new challenge which facesgovernments as well as agencies such as the OECD and WTO regarding traditionaltax concepts and their adjustment for an e-business environment. Contemporary taxlegislation should be evaluated for applicability to the e-commerce platform. Thepaper will show the problems which may appear as consequence in the case of non-applicability; double-taxation, electronic fraud, jurisdictional issues, all complicatingonline commercial transactions. Ultimately these may prevent the internet growingto its full potential as a new virtual commercial world, even replacing the traditionalway of conducting business. Slowly but surely, however, especially after Ottawa,where the OECD initially examined the issue of e-commerce and taxation, taxingonline commercial activity is becoming an inescapable e-business reality. As a resultthe objective should be the realization of a formula of worldwide harmonized e-commercial regulations to achieve economic, legal and social efficiency. Thus, thispresentation will draw upon some conclusions on the difficulties as well aspreliminary thoughts on solutions

PHENOMENAL EXPLORATION INTO IMPACT OF ANONYMITY ON LAW AND ORDER IN CYBERSPACE

While information systems provide modern society with great convenience, it also poses new problems in maintaining social order. One of its negative influences is the anonymity of cyberspace, which makes identity tracing a noteworthy predicament which poses obstacles in detection and investigations. It has been found that cyber anonymity has critical impacts on criminal motivation, and the phenomena of victimization, and should be tackled on different layers including technology and law enforcement. The article explores how the anonymity symbolizes the cyberspace, what threats are posed by cyber anonymity against social order, what potentialities the anonymity has, how the trans-territorial anonymity was facilitated, and the real impact of anonymity on law and order in the information society

PHENOMENAL EXPLORATION INTO IMPACT OF ANONYMITY ON LAW AND ORDER IN CYBERSPACE

While information systems provide modern society with great convenience, it also poses new problems in maintaining social order. One of its negative influences is the anonymity of cyberspace, which makes identity tracing a noteworthy predicament which poses obstacles in detection and investigations. It has been found that cyber anonymity has critical impacts on criminal motivation, and the phenomena of victimization, and should be tackled on different layers including technology and law enforcement. The article explores how the anonymity symbolizes the cyberspace, what threats are posed by cyber anonymity against social order, what potentialities the anonymity has, how the trans-territorial anonymity was facilitated, and the real impact of anonymity on law and order in the information society

Online Games and IP – Battle of the forms to Social Norms: Reconceptualising and Re-layering?

Online interactive environments like World of Warcraft, Second Life, Habbo and The Sims Online are international entities, attracting users across the globe. They have one common regulatory mechanism; the End User License Agreement (EULA). This contractual document forms the cornerstone of the regulatory and governing system within each of these distinct spaces. Yet the EULA is regularly contravened by users and the game provider alike, suggesting it is neither fit for purpose, nor adequately designed for these online spaces. The EULA forms not only the contractual relationship between the service provider and the end-user, but is also intended to control the behaviour of the users in the relevant online environment. These are very often the only forms of control or regulation that are present in online environments, and therefore control more than user behaviour. Despite this, there is no specific set of ‘virtual laws’ in these online environments yet the disputes arising from these environments are becoming increasingly common. There are online / offline boundaries, and different levels of controlling mechanisms. These boundaries are only one dimension of the control required in these spaces. Code is protected by copyright, and copyright is allocated by contracts. As such, there is an inter-dependent core which sees code, copyright and contract allocating not just property rights and intellectual property rights but adjudicating on disputes. In this relationship, there are different levels which combine to produce a situation whereby contract is dominant. This paper will consider the current layers of control in online gaming environments in light of some examples of legal disputes that have arisen. It will consider the Magic Circle theory and the Theory of Interration – and potential modifications in light of Tseng’s suggestions but also in context of disputes and the layers currently in place before suggesting that there is perhaps a chasm in this system of layered governance and control

The war on Internet privacy: a study of the European data protection legislation and the European public debate regarding privacy on the Internet

The high amount of information circulating on the Internet and the consequent possibility to monitor this information has sparked a discussion regarding privacy on the Internet. In early 2012, the EU responded to this by presenting a major reform of its data protection legislation. It is the possible source of this reform that has been of interest in this study. With a discourse analysis guided by a combination of Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory and a sociological theory of lawmaking, the possible existence of a connection between the European public debate regarding Internet privacy rights and the EU’s proposed data protection legislation reform has been examined. The data gathered from EU documents, one British newspaper and one Swedish newspaper suggests that the EU’s proposed reform has been influenced by public opinion. There are also indications that the public opinion has changed somewhat during the period after the EU presented the proposed reform, calling into question how effective the proposed reform will be and whether or not legislation can have a reversed effect on the public debate

A framework for evaluating the usability of political web sites : towards improving cyberdemocracy

Phd ThesisThe use of the World Wide Web (WWW) for political purposes, sometimes known as Cyberdemocracy, is growing rapidly. Web sites in particular have potential in improving people's participation in politics; which is one of the basic principles of democracy. However, currently very few studies have focussed on the usefulness and effectiveness of such web sites. This research, therefore, investigates the issue of web usability and proposes a framework for evaluating the usability of web sites particularly political web sites. It also highlights the potentials of the Internet technology as an effective political communication medium and emphasises the need for proper design, maintenance, and evaluation of web sites in order to improve their effectiveness. The research began with a literature search on web usability where seven major factors were identified namely Screen Appearance, Consistency, Accessibility, Navigation, Media Use, Interactivity, and Content - leading to the formation of a model called SCANMIC. Further exploration was conducted to elicit criteria relevant to each factor. The criteria and the model were then commented on and verified by experts in related fields. An online survey was carried out to identify the importance of these criteria from the perspectives of Internet users. Additional criteria which affect the usability of political web sites were also identified through interviews with frequent visitors of political web sites and web developers, and through content analysis of twenty political web sites in four different countries: Malaysia, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The findings from the usability criteria elicitation, expert reviews, survey and web content analysis resulted in a comprehensive list of web usability criteria, which formed the basis of the evaluation framework. The framework was based on a benchmarking approach; an approach that has proven its success in the business area but not widely used in web evaluation. It proposes eight cyclical steps for benchmarking web usability, including - decide what to benchmark, determine what to measure, identify who to benchmark against, identify who will benchmark, perform the benchmark, analyse data and determine gap, redesign, and monitor progress. The framework can be used to benchmark the overall usability of any types of web sites but is particularly suitable for political web sites. Furthermore, it can guide people with technical or non-technical background, who intend to benchmark the usability of their web sites against others. It is a very useful tool for an organisation to identify any gap which might exist between the usability of its web site and those of its competitors. The framework was tested for its applicability and practicality on several major political web sites in Malaysia, a developing country with a fast growth in terms of Internet access. The outcome of the testing was used to refine and finalise the framework. Research limitations are discussed in the last chapter and for each limitation, a suggestion for future studies is proposed. For example, there is an urgent need for a computerised tool to assist the benchmarking process. Testing the applicability of the benchmarking framework on other types of web sites also calls for future investigations. In addition, extending the applicability of the framework to include small displays technologies such as mobile phones and hand-held devices requires urgent attention.Universiti Utara Malaysi

Electronic Contracts:An Analysis of the Law Applicable to Electronic Contracts in England and Wales and its Role in Facilitating the Growth of Electronics

Electronic commerce has been described as unique, in the opportunities it creates for economic growth and its potential to revolutionise the way business is done. Although initial expectations and predictions have proven rather optimistic, it must nevertheless be accepted that electronic commerce has firmly established its place in the economies of the United Kingdom and European Union. Although considerable work and discussion has surrounded the creation of a regulatory framework for electronic commerce, insufficient attention has been given to the most fundamental element - the legal regime applicable to electronic contracts. Electronic contracts form the basis of electronic commerce. Parties have been contracting electronically for some time. However, electronic contracts have unique qualities and attributes making them sufficiently `different' to contracts entered by more `traditional' means to raise questions of the applicability and appropriateness of existing legal principles. This work is an examination of the legal environment within which electronic contracts are made. If electronic commerce is to reach its economic potential there must be a stable and predictable legal environment for electronic contracts. In this thesis the existing common law and regulatory principles are analysed, in the context of electronic contracts, to examine whether their application has the potential to create a stable legal environment. It is argued that a combination of, uncertainty in the common law; dated concepts in regulatory measures; and the introduction of new regulation without sufficient consideration of the nature of the electronic environment, has resulted in a lack of clarity in the law applicable to electronic contracts.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo