As Global Electronic Commerce has become more widespread and integrated into every day life, questions have been raised about the balance between the completely unregulated flow of information that characterizes the Internet and other societal interests. Whether and how governments worldwide should play a role in regulating the content that shuttles back and forth over global networks has, therefore, become an important question. It is particularly important in cases where there are divergent or competing government policies. For Global Electronic Commerce to flourish, there must be some global understanding of which jurisdiction’s laws apply to a given transaction. And to minimize interference with the growth of Global Electronic Commerce, technology solutions that offer consumers a choice of tools to establish the critical balance between the flow of information and protection of other interests should be investigated first.

"The question is not whether Global Electronic Commerce will impact business, but how far technology will take us into the future of limitless choices and opportunities. But, this future will only be realized if the global Internet continues to be based on open standards."
Scott, McNealy, Sun Microsystems