In the coming days, in fact, I will table new privacy and digital signatures legislation and make a policy announcement on cryptography. A second key issue is strengthening the information infrastructure. The existing Internet networks may not be able to support the exponential growth of electronic commerce. Internet traffic will soon consume half of the available bandwidth on networks worldwide, increasing to 90 percent by 2002. The Electronic Commerce strategy calls for a strong platform that includes network access and availability and open standards.
Electronic commerce is part of a broader process of economic, social and cultural change.
It's part of an emerging, global, knowledge-based economy. The Electronic Commerce Strategy looks to ways we can ensure that jobs and growth created by electronic commerce will be distributed as widely as possible among citizens, consumers and business. A body of rules governing the paper-based marketplace has evolved over time. We need to examine how to apply these rules to a digital world, and look at where we might need to adapt them to meet future requirements. The objective is to create a level playing field where the rules are predictable and consistent for all kinds of commerce.