Focus THEME

CONSUMER NEEDS Whilst the information society potentially offers considerable benefits to citizens it IN GLOBAL ELECTRONICCOMMERCE poses new threats to their privacy and the THE ROLE OF STANDARDS IN ADDRESSING security of their financial transactions. CONSUMER CONCERNS These concerns need to be addressed to ensure fair competition and the high lev- BY BRUCEI. FARQUHARAND GORDON LANGMANN. ANEC * AND ADAM BALFOUR. HUMAN FAC~ORSSOLUTIONS, NORWAF els of consumer protection the citizen ex- pects. ICT standardisation also creates dif- ANEC is the European Association for the the public authorities to challenge the ficulties for direct consumer participation. Co-ordination of Consumer Representatioh adequacy of certain standards. No such If we consider more traditional standardi- in Standardization. The association was framework exists for much of the ICT sation consumer organisations often have set up in 1995 following ajoint initiative standardisation. Yet public authorities still considerable expertise in their own labo- between the Consumer Consultative Com- have responsibilities to protect their con- ratories. This allows them to participate mittees of the European Commission and sumers and provide for fair competition in standards-developing committees on an the EFTA secretariat to create a single in the market place for the benefit of con- equal footing with industry. In the ICT consumer voice in the European stand- sumers and industry alike. sector however much more of the techni- ardisation process for both EU and EFTA cal standardisation work is simply too consumers. This initiative was launched complex for consumer representatives to in response to the important role that be able to contribute positively in the standardisation has taken on in *Bruce J. Farquhar working group environment. especially following the adoption of the @[email protected]) European Commission's "New Approach has been Secretary-General of ANEC, Whilst consumer representatives perhaps to technical harmonisation" in 1985. the European Association for the Co- cannot deal with the technical solutions ordination of Consumer Representation which are discussed in the standards work Since its establishment ANEC has been in Standardization since 1995. they can articulate consumer requirements accepted into the standardisation process. Prior to this he worked as standardisa- for the technology, products and services ANEC is an associate member of CEN, ac- tion oflcer in BEUC the European which are the subject of the standards cepted into the CENELEC family and a Consumers' Organisation. Mr Farquhar work. Often it is not at all important for member of ETSI. As a result of ANEC's has published various papers on the consumer how the technical solution recent activities in the Information and consumer aspects in relation to stand- works in detail but that the resulting prod- Communications Technology (ICT) sector ardisation. uct or service fulfils the consumer require- the association is also a member of the ments and performs in the way the con- Commission's Iff Partnership, is repre- *Gordon Langmann sumer wishes. sented on the Information Society Forum ([email protected]) has been ANEC and is in liaison with the Iff Standards Technical Oflcer in charge of information Agreement at the European and inter- Downloaded By: [German National Licence 2007] At: 12:46 11 March 2010 Board and the new CEN Information So- and communications technology for the national level on consumer requirements ciety Standardiiation System (CENIISSS). past two yeam. Prior to his appointment can then in our opinion help shape the at ANEC he was working for a Gmn standardisation work and ensure that con- ANEC's activities on electronic commerce consumer organisation. Mr. Langmann sumer issues are adequately addressed have come about as standardisation has is providing support to the ANEC Expert even when consumer representatives are been promoted by industry and by public Group on Iff and has been a major unable to participate directly in the stand- authorities as having an important role to contributor to the submission on ardisation work. For this reason ANEC has play in the establishment of the informa- consumer requirements. drawn up a comprehensive list of con- tion society in general and most notably sumer requirements for Iff standardisa- in the growth of electronic commerce. *Adam Balfour @[email protected]) tion. is an expert for human factors issues in Under the New Approach there is a estab- Iff, he has been ANEC's consultant GENERIC CONSUMER REQUIREMENTS lished legal framework which provides a for the past two years. Mr Balfour also From the basic consumer rights of access, backdrop for the standardisation work. represents the association in various choice, representation, safety, information This not only provides guidance for the standards-developing committees and redress we have identified 20 generic content of the standards through the es- in Europe. He has particular erpertise in consumer requirements that should be sential safety requirements but also pro- electronic commerce, smart cards and applied to all Iff standardisation. These vides for safeguards clauses which allow mobile communications. are Focus THEME

1. Ease of use + Mobile Communications 2. Design for all + Digital Broadcasting and Reception 3. Functionality of solution 4 Smart Houses and 4. Multi-cultural and multi-lingual + Road and Public Transport Informatics aspects 5. Terminology Whilst there are in total eight priority ar- 6. Comprehensible standards eas there is no doubt that electronic com- 7. Inter-operability and compatibility merce is one of the most important sec- 8. Consistent user interface ton to consider. To achieve the enormous 9. Adaptability ANEC, "ConsumerRequirements predicted growth in electronic commerce, 10. Provision of system status in relation to Znfonnation and Commu- not only must the demands of business be information nications Technology", Parts I and IZ, met but also the demands of the consumer. 11. Error tolerance and system stability consumer requirements and priorities, We must remember that electronic com- 12: Ease the consumer's need to remem- 1997/98. merce will have to compete with existing ber system operation methods of making purchases and com- Draft IS01 IEC User/ Consumer Mani- 13. Explorability pleting consumer transactions. Consum- festo, ISO/ZEC JTCl, S WG GII, 199 7. 14. Privacy and security of information ers have a choice as to how they make I 5. Cost transparency ISO/CD 13407 - 2 their purchases and they will not be slow 16. Quality of service, system reliability Human centred design processes to exercise that right. and durability for interactive systems. 17. Reliability of information NEED FOR STANDARDISATION EN 29241 18. Health and safety issues Standardisation is needed then to ensure Ergonomic requirements for ofice work 19. Environmental issues that consumers have the necessary confi- with visual display terminals, CEN. 20. Rating and grading systems dence in 'electronic commerce systems. EN 29241, Part 10: Dialogue principles. Notwithstanding the earlier remarks elec- These requirements have now been pre- tronic commerce may be the only way EN 29241, Part 11: Usabiliiy statements. sented to the ICT Standards Board and certain products or services will be offered have been adopted by the Board as a first prEN 1332-1 - for sale in the future. Not being conver- expression of its own policy on consumer Identification Card Systems - Man- sant with electronic commerce will reduce issues. ANEC also recently presented the Machine Znte$ace Part 1 : an individuals choice.. requirements to SOGlTS, the meeting of Design Principles and Symbols the Senior EU Government Officials on lT for the User Znterjiace. Electronic commerce can however also standardisation chaired by the European bring considerable benefits with it and Balfour, 1986, Commission. The document has also been standardiiation has an important role to uErgonomiske aspekter av elektroniske Downloaded By: [German National Licence 2007] At: 12:46 11 March 2010 very warmly received by the Information play in ensuring these benefits accrue to selvbeijeningssystemmer", Society Fomm, the individual European the consumer. Ele-onic commerce can N?1VF Forprosjekt rapport. standards bodies and within the interna- for example, through potentially lower [Ergonomical aspects of electronic tional standards bodies. costs, offer better deals (e.g. price), than selfsm'ce systems], Norwegian traditional city centre stores. Again, those Reseamh Council, preliminary report. CONSUMER REQUIREMENTS conversant with Electronic Commerce may IN KEY ARW Balfour, 1995 -A strategy to ensure be able to enjoy lower prices, those not The next stage in the elaboration of con- that consumer requirements are taken will pay higher prices [discrimination). sumer requirements for ICT standardisation into account in the development Electronic commerce, may be the most is to develop more specific requirements of self service systems : suitable way to shop for people living in relating to certain technologies, products TemaNord Publication. 1995:592. remote areas, single parent families, peo- and services. This process is nearly com- ple at work or for disabled consumers. plete and ANEC should be able to present Conversely however consumers who are these more detailed requirements shortly. not able to use the electronic commerce These requirements cover systems or do not trust them will be dis- 4 Electronic Commerce criminated against (i.e. disadvantaged) 4 Smart Cards when this becomes a normal means of 4 Internet purchase. Electronic commerce also cur- 4 Public access systems rently presupposes that the consumer has Focus THEME

access to a computer and a modem. The user interface does not allow for them to costs associated with this (equipment, op- do so. Consistent user interfaces are there- eration, software, installation, training fore a precondition to use of the system costs) will be a barrier to many. Learning by all citizens. (This can be achieved by to use such systems will especially be a user interfaces being adaptable to the in- challenge to the elderly. The use of other dividual, for example by coding on cards, delivery techniques where the consumer or by user interfaces being consistent already has invested in equipment (e.g. TV Balfour, 1995; "An overview of legisla- across several systems). Standard tools1 sets) needs to be considered on an equal tion, standards, literature and other measurement techniques for measuring footing. research on the usability of smart cards ease of use are needed. Electronic Com- and related selfservice systems" merce standards should also address er- Market forces for the introduction of elec- in The European context for assistive gonomic aspects of hardware, software, tronic trade and purchasing systems are technology Edited by Porrero services and support. Existing standards very strong and a number of incompat- and Bellacasa, , IOS Press. should be applied e.g. IS09241. Metaphors ible payment systems on Internet have and supporting icons should be standard- Balfour, 1995 "User Requirements already emerged. Electronic commerce ised to help facilitate ease of use. A pic- Specification for smart card systems ", will have social, legal, ethical and tech- ture and datasheet should be provided EU TIDE Project SATURN Work nical implications for the consumer. wherever possible. Package One - Deliverable Three.

CONSUMER PRIORITIES Balfour, 1997 "Consumer requirements Interworking between standards is a pre- FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE for self service systems: condition for electronic commerce. The main Consumer Priorities for elec- Tema Nord publication 1997 Interworking is required between differ- tronic commerce systems are (To be published). ent application domains, different tech- nologies and between the different stand- Bangemann, M. 1994 , "Europe and the + Ease of use ards bodies, both formal and informal. global information society, Recommenda- Interworking between standards + tions to the European council", Standards for all delivery technologies Standards for all delivery technologies - + CORDIS FOCUS, + Research into consumer aspects of It should be noted that the thrust of cur- Supplement 2, 15 July 1994. Electronic Commerce rent standardiiation work is directed ONLY + Security ETSI, 1996 ?European Policy Workshop. towards delivery of Electronic Commerce + Privacy Amsterdam, April, 1996: ICT Stand- via the PC. Other delivery technologies, + Design for all ardization and Disability in Europe: e.g. TV, telephone, mobile phone are NOT Error tolerance being systematically considered in ongo- + Farquhar, Langmann, + System status information ing standardisation work. Given that most "Consumer Acceptance of Electronic consumes in Europe have a TV and/or

Downloaded By: [German National Licence 2007] At: 12:46 11 March 2010 + Cost transparency Commerce" - Global Standards + Order Confirmation telephone (whereas PC home ownership Confmce, 1-3 October Brussels 1997. varies between 10 - 50% across Europe) Despite a certain lack of practical expe- National Swedish Board for Consumer it is important with regard to costs, both rience with electronic commerce, it is Policies and The Swedish Handicap for the consumer and service providers, possible to identify some areas for stand- Institute, 1992 "Setvice on equal terms: that these existing delivery mechanisms ardisation based on previous experience: disabled and elderly peoples use are utilised. Standards are needed to sup- of self service machines: port this. These include security of transaction, er- ror tolerance, transparency of costs in- Weijen, Vriezen, de Bruin and Security of transactions is one of the most curred, ease of use, interoperability, ex- Schollten, 1994: "Information technol- important aspects for the consumer. Pro- pected time for delivery, help when ogy and the consumer - An exploration viding an unknown organisation (abroad) problems occur and privacy. of thefuture" SWOKA report. with access to your bank account is a very unfamiliar concept to most users today, and Ease of use is an acknowledged problem places emphasis on security arrangements. for consumers. Field studies in of existing self service systems and of Password and user name are not enough, Internet show that while consumers may so new ways of encryption and digital sig- want to use a service, the design of the natures need to be refined and standard- Focus THEME

ised. An effective digital signature requires inadequate. If there is high error tolerance enhances a feeling of being a personal a public key algorithm, a secure hash al- and a standard away out. it will help the customer who gets personal treatment, gorithm, and a system of key management. consumer to feel more confident and at wen though there is no real personal con- Interoperability requires agreement on ease. tan Any order confirmation should in- standards for these items, plus agreement clude information on what personal and on the security procedures of a Trusted Provision of system status information - financial data has been stored. Third Party or Certification Authority. The status of the system (e.g. waiting for input, checking, fetching, etc.) should be THE WAY AHEAD Information to the consumer about levels always indicated to the consumer (feed- The more detailed requirements we have of security, and whether security has been back). Different mechanisms should be outlined above in respect of electronic breached could be based on standards. The employed to give clear feedback to the commerce and also in respect of the other process of delivering access codes to the consumer e.g. audio/visual for error mes- priority sectors we have identified will be user in a secure way should be standard- sages, data input required. All messages presented shortly to the ICT Standards ised. To reduce the security risk from the should be positive and not place blame Board in Europe. ANEC will also continue delivery process, the consumer should be on the consumer. its participation in the standards bodies able to immediately change access codes most notably in the CENIISSS workshop upon their receipt. Standards should fa- Equally mechanisms for feedforward (es- on electronic commerce, the ISO/IEC JTC 1 cilitate this. Clear and concise informa- pecially of consequences of actions) should Business Team on electronic commerce tion must be provided to the consumer be available (if you start downloading the and the CWRC224 - 1S01TC68SC 12 elec- about security risks. file you have selected it will take 76 min- tronic commerce expert team. utes Press rcancel download. or Privacy and confidentiality - Personal aDownloadr). Feedforward is an attribute We believe that especially in those sectors information, such as coding of user inter- that helps build trust in the system. where there is no direct consumer repre- face requirements, choice of service ap- sentation possible that these more detailed plications should not be disclosed to third Cost transparency - The system must be requirements can help to ensure that con- parties, e.g. captured by service provid- rransparent regarding all costs involved. sumer issues are adequately addressed by ers. Electronic footprints (traceability) Cost information should be presented in a the standards bodies concerned. The vali- should be avoided. standardised way. This includes both ini- dation of whether the standards bodies do tial costs involved for the user and costs in fact take account of these consumer Design for all - Electronic commerce in terms of subscribing to and operating requirements is however perhaps the most standards should support the principle of the system, especially when interworking important question. This then forms the 'Design for all". This is a process of creat- on networks, or when using on-line help basis of the next stage of our work. ing products, systems, services which are or other fundamental services (e.g. direc- accessible and use-able by people within tory enquiries, short message service on a

Downloaded By: [German National Licence 2007] At: 12:46 11 March 2010 the widest possible range of abilities op- mobile phone). Costs required for the re- erating within the widest possible range turn of a faulty or unwanted product must of situations. also be indicated. Disconnecting from a service must be free of charge or the charge This could be facilitated by standards on must be stated in a standardised way at the interchange of different inputloutput point of purchase. devices needed to match the individuals requirements (e.g. a blind person wants It is important that the consumers at all voice output). Equally, an individual's re- times know the financial consequences of quirements could be encoded in a stand- their purchase as well as the different ways ardised way so that the user interface of of having the purchase delivered (by cou- the system is adapted to the individuals rier, by air, or by surface mail). This infor- requirements (language preference, input mation should also include expected ex- mode preference, currency etc.). pedition time.

Error tolerance, recovery and abort and Order confirmation - Another important an easy obvious way out should be stand- factor, especially for new users and eld- ard for electronic commerce. Lack of this erly users, is getting a quick, personal (e.g. causes the consumer to feel insecure and e-mail) response from the merchant. This