Security Issues
Proper question will be: Is the Internet secure enough, enough for commercial uses? Despite the reliable encryption and other technologies, which are sometimes superior to telephone and other communications networks, non-digital media are full of hyper-critical view of the Internet security. While it is unwise to play down known security risks, it is also unnecessary to imagine a doomsday scenario for every occasion.
Does the Internet need to provide more security than physical markets? Probably so because the electronic marketplace lacks some elemental safeguards available in physical markets. For example, buyers have certain assurance about a seller with a retail store although that seller might be operating a bogus shop that particular moment. But bogus operations are more difficult to recognize on the Internet. Indeed, any online trading partner cannot be sure about the identity of the other person. Technologies and legal frameworks are needed to address such problems, e.g. nation-wide digital IDs.
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