WORLD'S LARGEST TECH TRADE SHOW OPENS
Electronics buffs will get an eyeful at the world's largest consumer technology trade show, which opens Thursday in Las Vegas. The 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show, sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association, runs through Sunday. It features more than 1.2 million square feet of space with 2,000 exhibitors and more than 300 expert speakers. This year's show will focus on how wireless technology is allowing products to converge and perform multiple functions from one device. "Attendees with truly witness how products are working together to keep our world connected 24 hours a day," said Gary Shapiro, CEA president and chief executive officer. Among the exhibitions at the CES: an Internet audio pavilion; the TechHome pavilion, featuring voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP; and products such as Fossil's Wrist PDA, or personal data assistant, and Timex's Bodylink System, a watch that is part of a component system offering Internet connectivity as well as speed, distance, heart rate, and multiple precision timing functions.
TAX-FREE INTERNET BILL HEADS TO CONGRESS
A bill to continue the ban on Internet taxes was among the first facing the new 108th Congress when the new session started Tuesday, Internet.com reports. Sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif., the bill prohibits three types of taxes they said unfairly singles out the Internet for taxation, including taxes on Internet access, double taxation -- such as taxes levied by two or more states -- for goods or services purchased over the Internet, and discriminatory taxes that treat Internet sales differently from other types of purchases. The bill is an extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act that Wyden and Cox introduced in 1998, which was a three-year moratorium that was extended for another two years in 2001 by additional legislation the two congressmen sponsored. As in the past, the new bill proposes a permanent ban on Internet taxes. However, Internet.com said, it is more likely Congress will settle on another extension on the act, with cash-strapped states looking for to the tax revenue the Internet could generate.
FTC LAUNCHES SITE AGAINST CROSS-BORDER FRAUD
The Federal Trade Commission Wednesday said it is launching a new Web site to battle the multi-billion dollar problem of cross-border fraud. Each year, the FTC reports, consumers from the United States and abroad lose billions of dollars a year to telemarketers pitch bogus products, services and investments from "boiler rooms" across the border. The new site, ftc.gov/crossborder, features information the FTC said is designed to help consumers spot, stop and avoid cross-border fraud, with information on recent FTC law enforcement actions against cross-border scam artists and the commission's coordination with law enforcement agencies abroad. Also featured are downloadable consumer education publications, such as "Hang Up on Cross-Border Phone Fraud," "Border-Line Scams are the Real Thing," and "Straight Talk About Telemarketing."
ONLINE CRITICS TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS
A Kansas home-security company that had filed a request in a Dalla County court to discover the identity of online critics has backed away from the action, non-profit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen reported. The Washington, D.C., non-profit said Protection One had sought the identities of 11 Internet users who had posted criticisms of the company anonymously on a Yahoo! message board, without providing evidence that the statements were false or actionable or explaining why a Texas court should have jurisdiction over the case. Public Citizen reports Protection One dropped the request after finding out the non-profit was to defend one of the critics. "Courts recognize that online speakers have a vital First Amendment right to anonymous speech unless there is a good reason to believe the speech is harmful, and it is highly unlikely that the court would have infringed on that right based on Protection One's weak arguments," said Paul Alan Levy, a Public Citizen attorney representing one of the anonymous users. "Corporations need to learn that they cannot expect to identify their online critics simply for the price of filing a complaint. The can enforce subpoenas only if they are prepared to go forward with a libel suit," Levy said. Protection One had not commented about the action on its Web site.
CONSUMERS TURN TO NET FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE
In the next months American consumers will look to the Internet more than the phone for customer service inquiries if trends follow the pattern set last year, research and consultancy comany The Dieringer Research Group reports. According to Dieringer's annual Anerican Interactive Consumer Survey, in the first quarter of 2002 64.3 million Americans phoned call centers vs. 40.5 million who went online for advise and support. However, despite these numbers, online users averaged 10.5 inquiries per customer compared to only 4.4 per user for telephone-based inquriries. Among the forms of online support, e-mail was most popular, getting greater reports of satisfaction compared to instant messaging. However, consumers who like using IM technology are likely to use it more frequently than other forms of customer support. "Consumers told us that when they're really upset about something, the phone works better, but when they've just got a general inquiry, the Internet works better," said Thomas E. Miller, a senior consultant at Dieringer.
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