[FYI] (Fwd) UK E-Commerce Business Alert

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	Brian Gladman <brian.gladman@btconnect.com>
To:             	ukcrypto <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk>
Subject:        	UK E-Commerce Business Alert
Date sent:      	Mon, 19 Jun 2000 15:48:01 +0100
Send reply to:  	ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk

UK E-COMMERCE BUSINESS ALERT
------------------------------------------------

I have put up a page at:

  http://www.btinternet.com/~brian.gladman/rip.html

as a preliminary warning to companies about the need to consider RIP
legislation before they create an e-commerce presence in the UK.

I have advised all such companies not to abandon plans for such a
presence but to put their plans on hold until the situation with RIP
legislation becomes clearer.  I have also advised companies to develop
contingency plans for locating in Ireland or Germany in the event that
RIP is enacted without significant change.

I have also put up the following document:

  http://www.btinternet.com/~brian.gladman/res.pdf

as a response to the Home Office comments on a number of aspects of
the report written for the British Chamber of Commerce by the London
School of Economics on the economic impact of RIP.

My comments show, in particular:

1) That the Home Office suggestion that there are 'major inaccuracies'
in the business risks identified in this report is completely flawed.
Moreover, it is disingenuous, since these risks cannot be quantified
as a direct result of the Home Office refusal to provide the
information needed to do this.

2) The Government has admitted that information that it classifies as
SECRET will not be protected to the standards that it sets for such
information because the costs would be too high.  In effect other
people's information will not be treated with the same care as the
Government treats its own information.

I hope that people on this list will develop links to this page so
that they can help to alert companies to the actions of the UK
Government in seeking to undermine the safety, security and privacy of
UK citizens and UK located businesses with this pernicious piece of
legislation.

    Dr Brian Gladman (http://www.gladman.uk.net)





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