The focus of the guidelines are primarily on issues of disclosure, information practice, customer satisfaction and the protection of children.
Concerning disclosure, the DMA suggests that Web sites should state clearly their full identity, their address, phone, fax and email. Also, price information should be up-to-date and all-inclusive, while terms and conditions should include a return and refund policy, payment, delivery and cancellation terms, as well as cooling-off rights.
Concerning issues of privacy and security, one of the more interesting conditions suggested was that companies should expressly obtain their consumers' permission before passing data onto third parties. This is a distinct move away from the practice of presupposing the consumer's permission by negative default.
The DMA will consider all feedback and comments on these issues before the final version of the code is drafted. To find out more about the DMA, you may visit their site at www.dma.org.za.
