Internet
and E-commerce in China: laws, policies, and judicial views
This
article is to be published in The Computer & Internet
Lawyer, in its January 2000 issue. Here I only display
the abstract of its content.
Abstract
This article discusses the legal framework of the People's
Republic of China on the Internet and e-commerce. There
is no comprehensive legislation relating to Internet and
e-commerce industry in the People's Republic of China. To
the extent it is regulated, it is under various provisions
issued by a number of governmental and quasi-government
agencies. The article first outlines China's legal environment
on Internet and e-commerce in general, and specially addresses
its eight aspects. Secondly, it examines China's judicial
interpretations on Internet related issues, concentrating
on domain name disputes and online copyright infringements.
The article also deals with foreign involvement in China
Internet and e-commerce market, and evaluates the impact
of China's accession to the WTO in this regard. The article
concludes that, to take advantage of opportunities for economic
development arising from the Internet, China should assign
a proper role for the government in this field, and take
steps to liberalize strict restrictions on ISP and ICP control.
