POLICY FRAMEWORK & LEGAL ISSUES     RELATING TO ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE
           - SOME PERSPECTIVES            
 
                                                         By                                                         

                                            PAVAN DUGGAL,
                                  CYBERLAW CONSULTANT,
                             PRESIDENT, CYBERLAWS.NET,
                                     MEMBER, MAC, ICANN
                   


Information  Technology   has   given rise to transition from an industrialized   model  of  big   government  -  centralized,  hierarchical  and  operating   in  a  physical  economy  to  a  new  model  of  governance, adaptive  to  a  virtual, global knowledge based, digital economy and fundamental social shifts.                                                                                       
Electronic Governance has emerged as one of the flagship applications with aspiration to employ  multimedia  and network technologies  to re-invent the way the government works. Virtually every public  policy area is going to be affected  in  this  new  Information  Age  from  security, privacy, intellectual property, copyright  protection,  universal access  to how bit flows are taxed across networks that  largely ignore any kind of political border. Companies are  going   to  invest  and  knowledge  workers  are  going to move to those governments  who create  an  environment  where  electronic commerce can flourish.           
      
Electronic Governance raises numerous legal and cyberlaw issues.  Right of information  is  probably  the most   important  legal issue   facing Electronic Governments  today.   People  all  across  the  world  require  information   as information  is  power  in  today's context.   Electronic Governance does not  put any shackles or hindrances on any person's right to information. The said right   should  be   absolute in all practical purposes except with the ultimate  provision that  information  detrimental to the future of mankind or secret coded information concerning national and international security and    
other related information can be  withheld  in  the larger interest.  Laws and regulations   in   this   regard  have  to  be   specially  enacted   by   national jurisdictions and Electronic Governance.                                  
   
Free  Speech  is   another   important   legal   issue   concerning   Electronic Governments. Governments in cyberspace are faced   by this   peculiar   and ticklish issue of free speech. Citizens have a right to free speech. This right  is enshrined as a  Fundamental Right in Chapter -III of The Constitution of India.  The  Internet  raises  the  issue  of  how   to  protect   children   from pornography   and  obscenity   while   at  the  same   time,  preserving    the Constitutionally-protected   rights of free  speech for adults. The notions of "reasonable  restrictions" as  developed   by   the   judiciary,  have   to   be  suitabilitly   modified so as to be in tune with the changing technologies.                              
There are ways  of screening out and limiting what your children can see at the computer and the same are becoming more user friendly.  However the question arises as to whether the concept of discrimination  will be attracted to such as situation and if so to what extent.                            
 
In  the  United  States,  the  Communications Decency Act  was passed  by Congress in February, 1996,  as  part  of  the Telecommunications  Reform  Bill.  Immediately  afterwards,  numerous law suits were   filed by different persons   from   public   service   organizations,   online  service   providers, publishers,  librarians.    The  Federal  Court  in   Philadelphia   heard   the combined   cases   and  in  June, 1996,  ruled the Act unconstitutional.   The experience of The Communication Decency Act should be a standing lesson for all Electronic Governments  as such an experience ought to be avoided.                                                        
The   issue   of  privacy on the  Internet  is  one  of  the  most   complicated     
 in  sorting  out the new media.  Without  privacy  protection, people do not      want  to  go on the Internet.   Netizens  are  extremely  touchy  about  their  privacy   and   all   attempts  should   be  made  by  Electronic Governments   to  preserve  the  confidentiality  of  user  details   and  user  privacy.   Privacy  laws in numerous  national  jurisdiction  are pretty   well  advanced  and   any   violation  of   the same   attract  privacy  liability and damages. Often,  websites  in   their  opening, ask  for  user/visitor  details      including name, address, telephone  number,  email  address, business and preferences. Electronic Governance has to ensure that this information has to   be   treated   extremely   confidentially   as   misuser  of   the   same for  commercial  ends   and/or   for   the   purpose   of the   sending   unsolicited email/spam   can   lead   to   different  legal  disputes  in  different  national jurisdictions,  thereby complicating problems.  Yet at the   same time,  if the content  provider is   regulated   about   what   the   web  site does with your
information  (name, address, etc.)  and  exposed  to  privacy  liability  if they collect  names  provided  by  visitors  to  their   website    to  send   further information by e-mail, many of the entrepreneurial sites would disappear and commerce    would   be  restricted.   Both    these   apparently  contradictory propositions  have  to  be legally  well  balanced.   Privacy   itself  is a liberal notion. But in the  new  environment of  inter-connectivity,  will  privacy have higher  value  than   sharing   information?   Ethics   and philosophies will  be be  continued to be debated for some time to come.

Electronic   Governance   also   raises   the   crucial   issue   of    security   of  transmissions and transactions and the need  for  amending  contract  laws to be in tune with the times.   This  is   essential  for  the robust  development of Electronic Governance.   Encryption   has   evolved    as   a  practical  way of  ensuring  secure  transactions.  However  the fact remains that  no firewall in the world is  absolute   or   immune  from any attack. Encryption  also  raises the  crucial   issue   for   Electronic   Governments  as   up   to   what   extent   would  governments  be  able  to  have   accessibility  to  scrambled  code  to intercept   criminal   communications.    Another  issue  would  be  as  to  who would   hold  the  encryption  keys - the private sector or government, and at what  level - state  or  Centre?   Contract   Law  would  have  to  be suitably amended  so  as  to  give legality to all Internet  transactions. The  issues of evolution  of  law  relating  to  digital   signatures  would  also  be  crucial  to Electronic Governance.

Electronic Governance has to settle yet another tricky issue of taxation. The question  is   whether  we   should   tax   the  Internet  commerce  and   online  providers, and,  if so,  how shall we tax? How  will  sales tax, corporate tax or the incomes of knowledge  workers who may live in one country or  state and work  in  another  country  or  state  through  telecommuting  be taxed?  One school of thought, is rapidly gaining ground, is that Internet is a new developing and  innovative  medium  and  any tax, at all,  will  kill the 'golden goose' and seriously  jeopardize  that government's ability  to engage in a  global  digital economy. Different national and state governments throughout the world are exploring  tax  free enterprise zones on  the Internet to establish competitive position.  As  the  industry  grows,  matures  and  generates surplus, taxation strategies will continue to be debated.                            

Alongwith the taxation issues, arise labour issues. What happens to a person who  delivers  his  labour  services on the Internet  or in consequence  of any transaction  relating  to the Internet?  Labour laws of the country have to be suitability  amended  so  as  to  be  in  conformity  with  the  latest  trends  of  Internet   Technology.                                                                                 

Electronic Governance also has to consider issues relating to  the legality of financial  transactions  and  arrangements on the  net.  Financial  laws of the countries  have  to  be  suitability  amended  so  as  to   have  to   a   uniform commercial code and basis. Electronic Governance also has to address itself specific to telecom laws and regulations. Efforts have to be made to see that the said  telecom laws do not hamper, in any way, the growth of internet.          
Universal   access  will continue as a social and moral debate for  Electronic Governments  as  opportunity  and  commerce   increasingly   shifts  to   the Internet and technology. Numerous other issues arise relating to Electronic Governance. How will copyright,  trademark and other intellectual property rights  evolve   on  the  Internet?  Will  these  remain  highly  valued  or  be redefined  for  an  electronic  age?  How  will  the  tort  law  be  defined    in cyberspace?  Many questions remain unanswered. Becoming informed and keeping   abreast  of  issues  and  directions  will  be  essential  to  the  new    
government  leader,  who  shall  be  one  of  the most  important  foundation pillars of Electronic Governance.                                              

The  future  lies  in  networked government services with decision  - making residents at community level wired to an infrastructure, regionally, nationally, and from both public and private sectors.