EBITT Meeting Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair of the ICC Commission on E-Business Information and Telecom (EBITT), presided over the Commission's meeting that took place last week in Paris.

The EBITT meeting discussed the projects the Commission intends to accomplish in 2003, including the formulation of the world business outlooks on the impact of key international regulatory initiatives on IT, telecom policy, data protection, e-commerce consumer policy issues, Internet technical management, cyber-security/cyber-crime issues, harmonization of e-contracting rules, jurisdiction and applicable laws issues, and online

The EBITT discussions also covered the development of the ICC’s input into the Doha Round of WTO trade negotiations on telecom and e-business issues. This will include the provision of ICC members with the tools, such as security and privacy for their information and networks, to promote, implement and disseminate ICC policy. This policy aims at promoting information and communications technologies as a tool for economic development and at creating digital opportunities for cyber have-nots. Further, the policy will develop the ICC’s e-Business World that will convert the ICC Standards to online service. Consequently, it will become the ICC’s focal point for online B2B transaction products from other divisions and commissions of ICC.

In his meeting with the WTO Secretary's General, Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh discussed the role the EBITT could play, and the inclusion of the topic on the WSIS’s agenda, especially the issue of consumer needs. 

It is worth noting that EBITT's mandate is to promote the development and promotion of e-business, and to create a symbiotic relationship information and communication technologies through policies, standards of practice and guidelines that encourage competition, growth and the secure flow of information.