Introduction
In this paper, our major task is to discuss the impact of the United States Constitution on business relations; in particular, we should focus on such new sphere as electronic commerce as it sets entirely new standards for legislators, entrepreneurs, and lawyers.
If we are speaking about E-commerce, one of the most stressful issues is the problem of privacy and confidentiality, because many people who prefer to operate in Web environment, try to make sure that their identity is not disclosed to unwanted parties. Therefore, it is of the crucial importance for us to analyze the regulatory functions of the US main law in connection with Web-business. In order to do it, we may refer to the article by Online privacy as legal safeguard, written by Jan Fernback, and Zizi Papacharissi.
Discussion
First, it should be pointed out that according to the US legislation, namely the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, each person has a right not to reveal personal data if he or she is willing to do it. These legislative acts are designed to ensure that each citizen of the country is protected from unsolicited intrusion, either physical or electronic. Again, we should stress the idea that modern conditions force the government to make new adjustments to the main law. In addition to that, they have to develop strategies to make sure that there is no loophole for unscrupulous individuals who take full advantage of someones personal information.
At this moment, we should refer to the article by Jan Fernback, and Zizi Papacharissi. They maintain that currently, many clients are extremely vulnerable to the threat of external invasion or intrusion. First, the authors point out that in the overwhelming majority of cases, many Websites do not give any explanation for collection of confidential information. For instance, the authors mention such famous companies as Microsoft Networks, which claims to “be committed to protection of clients privacy”(Fernback & Papacharissi, 2007, p 724) but the management fails to tell why exactly these data are collected.
The thing is that many consumers who use these services are very reluctant to tell their name, address, age, and so forth. However, they are practically forced to yield. Naturally, according to the US constitution, online networks have no right to make any use of these facts but even if they choose to do so, it is practically impossible to prove their guilt. In fact, we are observing a controversy according to the US legislation, individual information has to remain intact but de facto or in practice, there is no way to guarantee that every online service adheres to these rule.
In this regard we may as well remember such case as US West vs. FCC. The case illustrates the implementation of constitutional principles, namely according to it, the consumers are free to choose from two options they can either divulge personal facts or they can avoid disclosing them. This court decision grants higher degree of independence to online users (Fernback & Papacharissi, 2007). Nevertheless, many civil rights activists advocate that Free Trade Commission must check privacy policies in large online companies such Microsoft Networks or eBay. Moreover, it is of the crucial importance to inspect the security systems in such organizations because the leakage of some facts may result into heavy financial losses for both the client and the firm.
There is another facet of this dilemma: it should be taken into consideration that contemporary legislation gives virtually no basis for resolving the cases between users and E-commerce organizations. Every entity, operating in this field, proclaims that confidentiality is its topmost priority but in effect, there is no law, obliging these firms to protect confidentiality (Fernback & Papacharissi, 2007).
It seems that such situation is no longer acceptable because clients receive only promises, which are often groundless, and this is the reason for the growing concern. In order to substantiate this argument we can discuss the case eBay vs. Bidders Age: the disclosure led to the unauthorized use of property. At this point we should again mention the US constitution, which makes both sides of the agreement to comply with the terms of contract. Judging from the state of affairs in this field, we may say that consumers are clearly at a disadvantage. The major problem is that electronic crimes are almost impossible to investigate and this offers good opportunities to those who possess confidential information.
Conclusion
Thus, we can arrive at the conclusion that officially the Constitution of the United States ensures that privacy of each client is not intruded on. However, many examples indicate that Ecommerce companies have very vague policies concerning confidential information and they are often unable to explain the necessity for collection of personal data. Moreover, they can easily disclaim responsibility. We may argue that there is necessity to change privacy policies in many online firms in order to make customers less susceptible to external intrusion, or theft.
Bibliography
Jan Fernback, and Zizi Papacharissi. (2007). Online privacy as legal safeguard: the relationship among consumer, online portal, and privacy policies. New Media Society; 9; 715-734.
Henry R. Cheeseman (2007). The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business Ethics, E-commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues. Pearson Prentice Hall.