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On 12 June 2020, Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Standards Council launched Technical Reference 76: the first-ever guidelines to set out a national standard for e-commerce transactions. The standard is aimed at boosting the digitalisation of SMEs, as well as the burgeoning e-commerce sector in Singapore.

Technical Reference 76 serves as a practical reference for e-retailers and online marketplaces. The guidelines cover a wide range of functions, from the pre-purchase activities of browsing and selection, to purchasing and payment processes, as well as post-purchase fulfilment, delivery, product tracking, returns, refunds and exchanges. They provide best practices for businesses looking to develop and implement the necessary operational procedures, customer support, merchant verification controls, as well as processes to ensure that consumer-facing communications are clear and enable customers to make informed choices.Continue Reading Singapore launches national e-commerce standard

In her evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 24 October, Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (“DCMS”) Karen Bradley MP called out the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) as an example of EU law that the government would opt into. At the same time, the…

A recent report summary produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (‘OECD’) highlighted that many countries are placing too much emphasis on developing their digital economies and are neglecting the privacy of individuals as a result. Drawing from surveys undertaken in most of the OECD’s 34 member countries, the OECD found that two-thirds of survey respondents are more concerned about their online privacy than they were last year and believe countries are not putting enough investment into dealing with these concerns.

Sophisticated technology offers numerous opportunities for individuals but also is very capable of causing disruption of, and intrusion to, their privacy. As Andrew Wyckoff, an OECD representative, emphasised, with the arrival of ‘big data’ and the Internet of Things, digital economies evolve so quickly that digital privacy and security must catch up. It is easy to talk about the potential that a growing digital industry offers a country’s economy, but investment and growth will only occur if consumers trust the technology enough to engage with it. Privacy and security are crucial to this.
Continue Reading Consumer Trust should be at the heart of the Digital Economy