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4 J. Int'l Com. L. & Tech. 287 (2009)
E-Commerce and Mobile Commerce in South Africa: Regulatory Challenges

handle is hein.journals/jcolate4 and id is 276 raw text is: E-Commerce and Mobile Commerce in South Africa: Regulatory Challenges Z. NTOZINTLE JOBODWANA Department of Public, Constitutional and Intl. Law University of South Africa, Pretoria Jobodznkunisa.ac.za. Abstract. E-commerce refers to all forms of commercial transactions that involve individuals and organizations based on the electronic processing of data. Mobile commerce (M-commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services using mobile telephones or personal digital assistants (PDA). M-commerce is emerging in Africa and South Africa especially as either a complement or an alternative to e-commerce as originally conceived, though there are arguments that mobile telephone technology m-commerce will surpass e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This paper identifies the challenges in adopting e-commerce/m-commerce practices for economic development and competition in international trade. The liberalisation of the telecommunications sector on which e-commerce and m-commerce practices depend is being given priority by the majority of African governments. Despite advances in e-commerce and m-commerce practices in Africa, the growth of e-commerce and m-commerce has been slow. Impediments include low levels of internet penetration and limited communication infrastructure. To meet this problem, the UN adopted through the UN Commission on International Trade (UNCITRAL), Model Law on E-Commerce to help in the harmonisation of e-commerce/m-commerce related laws. Challenges are identified and recommendation made on how to improve the regulatory framework and create an environment conducive to investment and economic development. 1. Introduction Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the process of trading across the internet. A Pan African E-commerce Initiative, sponsored by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in 2001 adopted the European Commission definition of e-commerce: Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically. It is based on the processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and video. It encompasses many diverse activities including electronic trading of goods and services, online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfers, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions, online sourcing, public procurement, direct consumer marketing, and after-sales service. E-commerce has the ability to eliminate the time span between ordering, delivery invoicing and payment by using the World Wide Web. It offers benefits to both vendor and buyer. The vendor can create a global presence, thus generating more potential business, reducing costs, increasing competition, and allowing the ability to customise products.2 The buyer benefits through increased choice that encourages better standards of service, price reductions and a more tailored service. E-commerce has impacts on our economic and social life as it has the potential to fundamentally change the way commercial transactions, the business of government, the delivery of services and a host of other interactions are conducted, raising issues at the heart of policies directed at the regulation of traditional practices and procedures. E-commerce is sometimes also categorized under four main areas of activity: business-to-business (B2B), business-to- government (B2G), business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer(C. M-commerce, which is now an accepted acronym for mobile commerce, is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless hand-held devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless computers.4 M-commerce, which has become known as the next generation of e-commerce enables users to access the internet without needing to find a place to plug in. Mobile technology has revolutionised the way people communicate and conduct business transactions. Current Third Generation Phone (3G) handsets now 1'See also Ulirike Baum61, Thomas Stiffel & Robert Winter, A Goncept for the Evaluation of E-Gommerce-Ability, in Julie Mariga (ed), Managing B-commerce and Mobile Computing Technologies (2003), 2-4. 2 See John B W Carstens, Electronic Commerce in Practice: An Overview, in John Carstens & Pierre Lucouw (eds), B-commerce in Practice (2004), 43. 3 Ibid. 42-44. 4 See Alex Michael & Ben Salter, Mobile Marketing: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology (2006), 77. 287

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