World Trade Organisation - WTO adopts agreement on e-commerce.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced the adoption of the Agreement on Electronic Commerce which shall apply to measures adopted or maintained by a party affecting trade by electronic means.

However, the Agreement does not apply to:

• government procurement.
• a service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority; or
• except for Articles 8, 9, and 12 of the Agreement, information held or processed by or on behalf of a party, or measures related to that information, including measures related to its collection.

The Agreement contains provisions in relation to trust and e-commerce, including personal data protection, unsolicited electronic communication, and cybersecurity, among other things.

The Agreement states that a party must adopt or maintain measures that, among other things:

• require suppliers of commercial electronic messages to facilitate the ability of recipients to prevent ongoing reception of those messages;
• require the consent, as specified in its laws or regulations, of recipients to receive commercial electronic messages; or
• provide for the minimization of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.

The Agreement also requires each party to adopt or maintain a legal framework that provides for the personal data protection of e-commerce users. Additionally, the Agreement states that each party must publish information on the personal data protections it provides to users of electronic commerce, including guidance on how a natural person can pursue remedies and how enterprises can comply with legal requirements.

Any member of the WTO may accept this Agreement. Acceptance shall take place by deposit of an instrument of acceptance to this Agreement with the Director-General of the WTO. The Agreement will enter into force on the 30th day following the date of deposit of the instrument of acceptance.