Issues & Policy
The Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP) participates in issues and policy discussion around the following areas: Competition and Transparency, Privacy, Security, and Intellectual Property Rights.
Healthy Marketplaces
Competition
Advertisers, web publishers and consumers all rely on healthy competition in online advertising to fund online innovation and content. Online advertising will continue to serve as the engine that drives the online economy, but only if vibrant competition in this critical sector is preserved.
Transparency
Companies with a leading market position can sometimes achieve the status of gate-keepers online. Such companies have a special obligation fully to disclose their business practices, both in relation to consumers and other companies in e-commerce.
Privacy
The Internet and e-commerce will reach their full potential only if consumers are informed of the ways in which information about them is used and are confident that their privacy will be respected.
Security
Today's online consumer is subject to a variety of information security threats, including hacking, data spills, malware and identify theft. Companies that collect and store personal data must take all reasonable measures to ensure it remains safe and confidential.
IPR
Intellectual property rights foster creativity and innovation, including in the online environment, by enabling firms and individuals to enjoy the commercial fruits of their efforts.