With the growth of the Internet, concerns have arisen over the legal and ethical issues that surround e-commerce

If proper ethical procedures are not followed, the possibility exists that "trade secrets or intellectual property" could be revealed (Warholic, 2007).          Part of the difficulty of using the Internet for international e-commerce is revealed in this comment: " when it comes to legal issues, laws are enacted by governments and developed through case precedents (common law)" (Mackrodt, 2004). In addition, laws are "strict, legal rules governing the acts of all citizens within their jurisdictions" (Mackrodt, 2004). But when someone does e-business with someone in another country, the same sets of laws don't apply, which makes it doubly important that all business is done ethically.        Ethics is usually thought of as the branch of philosophy that deals with what is right and wrong; the problem is that unethical acts are not always illegal (Mackrodt, 2004). But companies engaging in e-commerce "need to adhere to the same ethical standards that other businesses follow" (Mackrodt, 2004). If they fail to do so, they will "suffer the consequences that all companies suffer. These include; a damaged reputation and long-term loss of trust that can result in loss of business" (Mackrodt, 2004).         Dealing with companies internationally has opened up many new markets, but it brings with it a great many problems as well, because laws are different in different countries. Perhaps more disturbing to most people in the West, ethics are different as well, so that what might be considered unethical in the United States is acceptable elsewhere (Mackrodt, 2004). For instance, many Western nations have a much greater concern for privacy than Asian countries do; and "Many European countries have laws that prohibit companies from exchanging consumer data without the express consent of the consumer" (Mackrodt, 2004). It would be ideal if we had developed a set of universal guidelines for e-commerce, but that has not occurred, nor is it likely ever to occur, because cultures differ so widely.          Most companies and professional organizations have codes of ethics that guide their employees and members in their conduct; one source says that ethical and legal issues can be categorized into "privacy, intellectual property rights, free speech versus censorship and consumer and merchant protection against fraud" (Mackrodt, 2004). Perhaps these categories could serve as a starting point for a development of an ethical guideline for international e-commerce concerns.         A conference on "Ethics and the governance of the Internet" was held in 1999 to discuss some of the issues we've raised in this paper; specifically, it was stated that ethics has an important part to play in the development of e-commerce (Berleur, Duquenoy and Whitehouse, 1999). The presenters of this paper came to two main conclusions regarding ethical considerations and the use of the Internet: "First, there is a general agreement on the ethical issues as they are covered either by the technical means, or by self-regulation, or partially at least by the law" (Berleur, Duquenoy and Whitehouse, 1999). Among those issues that should be regulated we find such things as privacy; protection for copyrights and trademarks; and the right to free speech (Berleur, Duquenoy and Whitehouse, 1999). Among the things this group found inappropriate or unethical are racism, pornography and hate speech (Berleur, Duquenoy and Whitehouse, 1999).     The second conclusion is also interesting: the group asks, "within the ways those issues are solved  Who is setting the labeling vocabulary and the criteria for assigning labels, who is rating the web sites?" (Berleur, Duquenoy and Whitehouse, 1999). As noted above, since we are dealing with a communications medium that spans the globe, these are not trivial concerns.         Finally, Fleenor and Raven note that economies are not developing at the same rate everywhere, which means that some nations will be ready to begin e-commerce ventures long before others, which will be "one more requirement heaped on the plates of struggling developing countries to prevent their isolation and loss of competitiveness" (Fleenor and Raven). Conclusion         Unfortunately, because the Internet is still evolving, there are no answers to the legal and ethical concerns of e-businesses, at least not yet. It is suggested that there are certain things that are probably illegal and unethical all over the globe (child pornography, for example), but even that is uncertain given cultural differences. Because we do not yet have—and may never have—a "handbook" of rules and regulations for conducting e-commerce that can be applied successfully in a global setting, it is even more important that e-commerce be conducted in a lawful and ethical manner.REFERENCESBerleur, J., Duquenoy, P. & Whitehouse, D. (1999). Ethics and the governance of the Internet. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from http://www.info.fundp.ac.be/~jbl/IFIP/Ethics_and_Internet_Governance.pdfFleenor, C.P. & Raven, P. (n.d.). Barriers to effective e-business in developing countries. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from http://www.seattleu.edu/asbe/igbi/publications/Final_Barriers.htmMackrodt, M. (2004). E-commerce - legal and ethical issues. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/ECommerce_-_Legal_and_Ethical_IssuesWarholic, J.A. (2007). Importance of ethics on the Internet. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from http://pwebs.net/marketing/ethics/articles/internetethics.htm