DTI under fire but still won't extend ecommerce deadline

NEWS The UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) came under fire from ecommerce experts again yesterday, at London's Scrambling for Safety conference. Representatives from groups including the Foundation for Information Policy Research, e centre UK and the London Internet Exchange told ministers they are concerned about how little time the government has left for consultation on its proposed ecommerce policies, including legislation governing encryption and digital signatures. The DTI finally published its White Paper on ecommerce last month after lengthy delays - leaving only three weeks for businesses to submit their response before the Bill is finally drawn up. Conference attendees said they want an extra month to consider their reaction properly, but Roger Till, director of e centre UK - who was at the conference - told Silicon.com that that's unlikely to happen. "They still won't extend the consultation period - they are sticking to the schedule," he said. However Till was generally positive about the conference's outcome. He said the DTI agreed that the taskforce it intends to set up to tackle these issues will be an ongoing platform for consultation. Another positive sign, according to Till, was that Home Office officials attended the meeting. "It's the first time they've been present at such an event," he said, explaining that it suggests a communication channel is finally beginning to develop between parties which have so far clashed about privacy versus law enforcement issues.