Protect and Regulate Business It is important that the laws the legislature makes for e-commerce will equally protect and regulate businesses. The legislature should not inhibit companies from earnings, instead it should make sure that companies are not illegally profiting.
One option is for legislature to verify signatures and determine whether they are sufficient in electronic transactions: "Good arguments have been made that any electronic signature that goes beyond merely removing the most obvious barriers to e-commerce (e.g., going beyond the question of 'Is it legal?') will actually hurt, not help, e-commerce." (Ibid.)
The efforts of the legislature are promising in regulating e-commerce but not destroying it, because the United States government consists of various politicians who represent different ideas concerning the economy and the Internet. As a result, all possible solutions to maintain e-commerce are considered until members of legislature agree on one idea. Problems in the Workplace
and the Cost to Employers Although access to the Internet in the workplace benefits the economy, there are some social, economic, and technical setbacks. One economic concern is that employees spend more time -- unrelated to work -- on the Internet:
Employees Waste Time and Money--
"Estimates show that workers with on-line access spend more than five to ten hours per week searching the World Wide Web for non-work related sites or sending e-mails of a personal nature."
(Amy Kogers, Journal of Technlogy Laws and Policy)
As a result, the company wastes money paying hourly wages to workers who spend time entertaining themselves on the computer and risk losing business.
Incorrect Addresses--
Another social concern with using the Internet in the workplace is sending messages to the wrong place. For instance, if an employer sends a message that contains private information about the company and someone intercepts it, the consequences could be hazardous to the fate of the company. If the message that is intercepted is inappropriate, in that it is uses derogatory statements, the company that supplies the Internet to the sender (employer) will face a law- suit.
Insufficient Security Systems--
Despite the fact that some businesses have security that is intended to avoid such situations, it is insufficient because there are many ways to bypass security on the Internet. Technical problems develop when workers have access to the Internet: "Software transferred by e-mail or downloaded from the Internet often violates copyright laws," which is otherwise called technical infringement. Although it might be a single employer that downloads a site that they should not have access to, the company will be at fault. (Ibid.)
A copyright infringement will destroy the image consumers have of the company and that will affect their annual earnings. Companies face various liabilities when they allow employees to access the Internet without taking precautions. Therefore, a law is necessary that will control Internet use in the workplace.
