Back the Act: Let's win back e-consumers

Consumer confidence in ecommerce is at its lowest ebb. Powergen, Barclays, Safeway, Woolworths... the list of household names which have experienced serious internet security problems is growing by the week.

People are now questioning whether the internet will ever be a viable medium for financial transactions.

The truth? The internet is a viable medium for commerce, and consumers can be assured that buying online is safe. In fact, 99 per cent of companies trading online are now safe. It's the one per cent which have made mistakes that are giving the rest a bad name.

But consumer confidence will only be restored if all companies doing ecommerce do it right - and the only way that will happen is if those that think they can cut corners are scared enough to think again.

Besides the bad publicity, the companies mentioned above have got away with their cock-ups scott-free. That's the real scandal here. And it's not as if the mechanisms aren't in place to punish the perpetrators.

The UK's Data Protection Act (DPA) covers serious security breaches of this kind. And the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has the power to enforce it.

But it doesn't have the resources. It's under-funded, under-staffed, and companies like Barclays and Powergen simply aren't scared.

silicon.com believes the Act itself is perfectly adequate, and the DPC is the perfect body to enforce it. But - even though it won't say so itself - the DPC needs more government backing. Indeed, the Tories are now calling for a review of its enforcement powers, to give it more 'bite' in just these matters.

Companies need to have their responsibilities brought home to them, or we'll all suffer - whether as consumers, or companies trying to do business online.

That's why we've launched our Back the Act campaign, which, over the coming weeks and months, will raise the profile of this issue, and lead to real changes in the way the DPC operates and what companies think of it.

The UK really can be the best place for ecommerce. Consumer confidence can be restored.