It will be necessary to adopt some sort of public key identification system. Legal impediments to the setting up of a public register of identification keys appear likely to the removed in the next round of ecommerce legislation. Ecommerce vendors also need to create confidence in the consumer that they will keep the consumer's details secret. Consumers need to be confident not only that the vendor will not disclose their details to third parties, but they must be satisfied that outsiders cannot access the details such as credit card numbers stored on the vendor's system or intercept them. The form of encryption adopted in relation to electronic payments should be quite clearly spelled out and where possible, vendors should promote its compliance with codes of conduct and industry standards.
Jurisdiction is one of the most obvious issues for an electronic commerce transaction.
It is most important that in order to avoid dispute, the jurisdiction is clearly established. The jurisdiction must be clearly stated and encompassed in a term of the contract. Apart from the question of where the contract is formed, the issue of when the contract is formed must be dealt with in the contract. On the technical side, moves are also underway to set up standard that will assist in effective ecommerce. A record keeping system that will accurately record the date, time and details of transactions will be of obvious value, particularly where that system cannot be altered.