UW News

April 17, 2001

The perils of online bidding — report on Internet auctions to open conference on Information Superhighway

Online auctions have soared to immense popularity, enticing more than 35 million armchair bidders, but four out of 10 of those buyers report having had problems with a transaction.

Few online bidders know of the simple steps they can take to avoid fraud and disappointment, according to a report to be issued Friday at 3:30 p.m. by Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire and the UW Law School’s Center for Law, Commerce & Technology.

The 41-page report — among the most comprehensive ever done on online auctions — will kick off a UW conference Friday and Saturday (April 20-21) that draws together key academic, government and industry players to tackle the latest issues in Internet policy and regulation, from protecting privacy to encouraging competition.

“Beyond the Information Superhighway,” sponsored by the UW Center for Law, Commerce & Technology, also will feature a Saturday-morning address by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that is considering several proposals on online privacy and Napster-related copyright questions.

Also taking part in the conference will be current and former regulators with the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission; executives from Microsoft and Western Wireless; attorneys with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and a leader of the privacy advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“As a new administration assumes power in Washington, D.C.,” said Sharon Nelson, director of the Center for Law, Commerce & Technology, “this conference will bring together federal agency leaders with informed opinions about new directions the administration may take.”

With the tech sector of the economy undergoing a shakedown, Nelson added, policymakers must grapple with ways to keep communications industries healthy and competitive while protecting such social interests as privacy and consumer protection.

Gregoire will start off the conference at 3:30 Friday afternoon at the University Tower Hotel (the former Edmond Meany Hotel, 4507 Brooklyn Ave. N.E.) with the release of the online bidding report done in collaboration with the UW’s Center for Law, Commerce & Technology.

Anita Ramasastry, UW assistant professor of law and co-author of the study, said the independent survey of Internet auction sites shows that there is room for improvement.

“Many do not adhere to the best practices highlighted in our report,” said Ramasastry, who also is associate director of the Center for Law, Commerce & Technology.

Gregoire will be followed at 4:15 by former FCC chief technical adviser David Farber, a computer science professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, the conference moves to Condon Hall, 1100 N.E. Campus Parkway, home of the UW Law School. There, Cantwell, an executive with Real Networks before joining the Senate, will open the day’s session with a 9 a.m. speech. Panel sessions will take place throughout the day on “The Digital Divide, “Perspectives from the Industry,” “Perspectives from the Regulators” and “How Will Policy Initiatives Intersect with Intellectual Property Rights?”


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For more information, contact Nelson at (206) 616-8542, sharonne@u.washington.edu, or Ramasastry at (206) 616-8441, arama@u.washington.edu. Gregoire can be reached through public-affairs officer Chris Jarvis at (206) 464-6432, chrisj1@atg.wa.gov
The full conference program is at www.law.washington.edu/lct.