Ethics Newsline®

NEW YORK
Six major U.S. high-tech and media firms joined forces last week to push for greater uniformity in worldwide ecommerce policies, as well as a code of conduct for Web retailers.

The companies — Microsoft, IBM, America Online, Time Warner, Visa, and Dell Computer — warn that without a standard, consumers worldwide may be reluctant to spend money via the Internet.

The firms’ alliance, the Electronic Commerce and Consumer Protection Group, will lobby for strengthened consumer protection worldwide and a unified approach to ecommerce, the Associated Press reported.

Among the group’s major concerns is the need for a unified set of rules governing credit-card purchases that would provide the same protections to consumers in the United States and abroad.