Despite the participation of prominent technology companies like Microsoft Corp., which signed up last week, and Hewlett-Packard Co., fewer than 50 U.S. firms have chosen to participate so far, according to the Commerce Department's Web site. In order to qualify for safe-harbor protection, U.S. companies must meet certain requirements about how they handle addresses, telephone numbers, and other personal information of their customers. Companies must tell consumers what information about them is collected and how it is used, and must allow consumers to access that information at any time. Consumers must have the right to block their personal data from being shared with outside parties, and companies must ensure that data are kept in a secure manner. Companies must also participate in dispute resolution programs if customer complaints cannot be handled internally.
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A majority of Fortune 1000 companies are moving at least part of their supply chains online. However, only a minority of those firms have a plan in place to deal with the B2B disputes they expect to arise as they increase their e-business involvement, according to a new survey. However, they are recognizing the potential pitfalls as they call for guidelines. It is clear that reducing B2B e-commerce disputes and providing an electronic mechanism for resolving them if they do occur is crucial to the success of the medium. Miller-Moore said that the AAA is developing services to address these types of disputes.