By silicon.com, 17 December 1998 00:30
NEWS Peter Mandelson has said he wants to triple the number of UK businesses with an ecommerce policy by 2002. Speaking at the launch of a government white paper - Our Competitive Future: Building the Knowledge Driven Economy - the Trade and Industry secretary announced a raft of proposals to build an infrastructure for electronic commerce in the UK. In a statement before the launch, Mandelson issued a warning to UK industry that firms "don't stand a chance" if they don't face up to the reality of trading over the Internet. He said that the Electronic Commerce Bill, which will be introduced in January, will remove obstacles like customs charges and import and export taxes which could complicate ecommerce. The government also promised to invest £20m in a fund to create better digital infrastructure, and will encourage firms to adopt a "best practice" hallmark for consumer protection. There was no mention in the launch of the government's controversial policy on businesses handing over encryption keys to a trusted third party. The Department of Trade and Industry has said it is committed to making companies hand over encryption keys, in spite of opposition from businesses and civil rights activists. Robin Bloor, director of Bloor Research, praised the government's plans: "It's very encouraging to have a government which is proactive in these areas. It makes a nice change and it will help the industry gather momentum."
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