International Internet Sweep Days

The IMSN conducts sweep days to target the growing number of fraudulent and deceptive scams emerging on the Internet. The 1997 and 1998 sweep days were coordinated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and involved wide participation by Network members. Participants surfed the Internet to identify potentially deceptive or fraudulent sites. The sites identified were then sent e-mail messages to make clear that relevant legislation (such as laws against deceptive advertising) apply not only to traditional media, but to the Internet as well. Sweep days enable law enforcement to use the Internet to help ensure that unscrupulous marketers not destroy the credibility and viability of this important medium.

• Sweep Day 1998: Virtual Health Treatments

The 1998 sweep day is targeted 'virtual health treatments', or products that make health claims and offer 'miracle cures'. Billions of consumer dollars are wasted on unproven, fraudulently marketed, and sometimes useless healthcare products and treatments. In addition to wasting consumers' money, some products or treatments may even cause serious harm and endanger lives. In the 1998 International Internet Sweep Day, we focused on advertisements and promotional materials marketing healthcare products or treatments that make any representation (either expressly or by implication) about the efficacy, performance, benefits, success or safety of any treatment or preventative measure for serious diseases.

•Sweep Day 1997: Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

On 16 October 1997, the IMSN held its first sweep day, involving 70 consumer affairs enforcement agencies from 30 countries. This sweep targeted 'get-rich-quick' schemes, such as pyramid selling, business opportunities and phoney prizes and lotteries. The results included the identification of over 1100 suspicious web sites which were then e-mailed an educational message. When the sites were revisited a month later, 28% of the sites had been removed or altered.

 

Cross-Border Dispute Resolution System

The IMSN operates an informal dispute resolution system to assist consumers in resolving disputes arising out of cross-border transactions. To participate in this program, consumers can print the complaint form, fill it out completely, and send it to the IMSN contact for their country of residence. The IMSN contact will forward the complaint to his or her counterpart in the country where the seller is located. The latter will forward the complaint to the seller, and will attempt to mediate a voluntary resolution.

Belgium Hosts IMSN Conference

Belgium commenced its IMSN Presidency by hosting an IMSN Conference in Brussels on 31 August - 1 September, 1998. Delegates from 23 countries as well as representatives from the OECD and EU attended.  The next Conference is scheduled for March 25-26 in Brugge.

Other Items of Interest

• The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, through its Consumer Policy Committee, is producing a set of guidelines for consumer protection in electronic commerce. Business-to-consumer commerce conducted via the Internet and proprietary online networks is experiencing rapid growth, with profound implications for consumer interests. The guidelines will suggest approaches to protecting those interests.  The next meeting of the Consumer Policy Committee is scheduled for March 22-24 in Paris.

• A Borderless World: Realising the Potential of Global Electronic Commerce. The OECD and the Government of Canada held a ministerial-level conference on electronic commerce in Ottawa, from 7 to 9 October, 1998.

• The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, and the Secretaria de Salud of Mexico have adopted an agreement on Joint Strategies to Combat Health Fraud (Joint Strategies Agreement). The Joint Strategies Agreement provides a formal framework for cooperation and signals an expansion of joint efforts against the fraudulent marketing and sale of health related products, services and devices.

• As growing numbers of consumers participate in the global marketplace, the issue of international consumer protection is becoming increasingly relevant.  The   U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced a June 1999 workshop to examine U.S. perspectives on this new consumer protection topic.  The public workshop will explore various issues that consumers confront as they buy goods or services from foreign businesses.  These issues concern questions of what laws apply to direct, international business-to-consumer transactions, where disputes are heard, and which governments have authority to protect consumers.

• A project of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is currently underway to prepare a convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. This project may interest agencies who enforce their civil judgments abroad. An issue of particular significance to governmental bodies has arisen concerning the scope of the convention: should it include "public law" actions? A consensus on this issue does not yet appear to have emerged at the Hague Conference. A special commission on this project has already convened three sessions, the most recent of which occurred on November 10-20, 1998. The intent is have a completed convention by October, 2000. A number of reports and papers related to this convention are available on a Web site maintained by the U.S. State Department's Private International Law Database. This database also contains general information about the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

• The ACCC hosted the Sydney Global Commerce Conference from 9 -11 November, 1998 in Sydney, Australia.  The Conference focused on engendering consumer confidence in the global marketplace through the development of initiatives for enhanced global fair trading and competition.

• November 1997 marked the formation of the International Society of Consumer and Competition Officials (ISCCO). The ISCCO was created at a specially convened meeting of government officials at the Consumers International Congress held in Santiago, Chile. At the meeting, thirty-nine government officials registered their interest in the creation of a global network for trade regulation officials. The Inaugural Conference of the ISCCO was held on 12 November 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Further information can be obtained on the ISCCO web site or by e-mailing [email protected].