E-Commerce News - Kodak, Data Privacy, BSA, Electronic Signatures, UNCITRAL

Kodak Fulfills Orders for Under Priced Cameras

Data Privacy - 'Safe' to send personal data to Canada

Information Commissioner's Web Site Data Protection Audit

BSA Truce Does not Extend to UK

UK Government Misses E-Commerce Directive Implementation

Deadline

Implementation of Electronic Signature Directive

UNCITRAL Draft Convention on Electronic Contracting

  1. Kodak Fulfills Orders for Under

    Priced Cameras

    The potential hazards caused by website errors were demonstrated last

    month by Eastman Kodak when they decided to supply website ordered cameras

    to customers at a hefty discount. The cameras had been mistakenly offered

    for sale on Kodak's website at a price of £100 instead of the RRP of £329.

    The mistake remained on the website for only twelve hours but attracted

    more than a reported 10,000 orders during that time.

    Initially, Kodak had emailed customers arguing that the customers'

    orders, placed on the website, were only an ìoffer to purchaseî which

    Kodak could choose to turn down.

    An important factor in this case, however, was that Kodak subsequently

    emailed those who had placed orders on the site in acknowledgement of

    those orders. This act is thought by many to constitute acceptance of the

    order and hence form a binding contract. Unhappy consumers had threatened

    Kodak with litigation and many feel it is a case Kodak could easily have

    lost.

    The confirmation email sent by Kodak distinguishes this scenario from

    that experienced by Argos when it offered TVs on its website at an

    incorrect price (Argos had misplaced the decimal point!) because Argos did

    not send an email confirming orders.

    Kodak claims to have decided to honour the orders for the sake of good

    customer relations and refused to comment on whether a legally binding

    contract had been formed. How much this decision has cost Kodak is not

    known, but based on the difference in price, the error could cost Kodak

    over £2 million.

  2. Data Privacy - 'Safe' to send personal

    data to Canada

    Article 25 of the Data Protection Directive prohibits the transfer of

    personal data (any information that can identify a person) from inside the

    EEA (European Economic Area) to third parties in countries that do not

    have 'adequate levels of protection'.

    On 20th December 2001 the European Commission officially declared that

    Canadian data protection laws provide adequate protection for personal

    data under EC law. Until recently the Commission had approved only

    Switzerland and Hungary. Companies in the US can join the Safe Harbour

    scheme which has also been approved by the Commission.

    In the past transfers outside the EEA have been carried out by

    requiring (under contract) the transferee to comply with data protection

    principles even though the transferee's country of residence does not have

    data protection laws. This can be achieved using the set of clauses

    approved in January 2002.

    This approval now means that companies in the EEA can safely transfer

    personal data (e.g. for processing) to Canada in the same way that they

    could previously transfer data within the EEA.

  3. Information Commissioner's Web Site Data

    ...

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