The Council for Internet Commerce yesterday opened the second and final round of voting for a codification of standard electronic-commerce practices, called the Standard for Internet Commerce.
The goal of the standard is to create a set of best practices for increasing consumer confidence in buying online. Voting for the general public will continue through Dec. 6 at the Commerce Standard Web site, and officials are urging the public to vote.
The public will be able to shape policy on the following issues:
-- disclosure of who the merchant is and how to contact them;
-- disclosure of return, cancellation, warranty, and support policies;
-- providing confirmation that they have received a consumer's order;
-- giving the consumer choice as to how the consumer's personal information is used;
-- and creating a central "information centere" available from every page of the site where all information about the merchant's policies and practices can be easily found and understood.
The final version of the Commerce Standard will be unveiled at the Nextravaganza conference in San Francisco on Dec. 14.
The Council for Internet Commerce is an alliance of global leaders including Internet merchants, IT vendors, consumer and community advocates, analysts, journalists, and academics. The group can be reached at http://www.commercestandard.com/.