International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATION & FREE CONTRACTS FOR INTERNET ACCESS IN THE UNITED STATES AND ITALY:
TOWARDS A CONSUMER RIGHTS FRAMEWORK
By Simone Francesco Bonetti

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 4-10-2005

Abstract

This paper seeks to add to the debate regarding the high level of privacy and consumer protection provided by European Union legislation, as compared to the United States. The first part of the paper provides an overview of the highly complex system of consumer protections by linking several regulatory initiatives in the wake of the European Parliament and Council Directive 00/31/EC. The result is a new legal framework for e-consumer protection that includes privacy protection. In the second part of the paper, the different free Internet access contract models in the U.S. and Italy are examined in order to test the implementation of the above-mentioned legislation from a European Community point of view. The analysis highlights the importance of a legal framework that seems capable of establishing the correct balance between the rights and duties of the e-consumer. At present, however, such a balance is not achieved by common U.S. and Italian free Internet access contracts.

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