Government Documents on Electronic Commerce


The Internet has transformed the way individuals and companies conduct economic activity. It´s now possible for individual firms to sell their products on the other side of the world and for individuals to purchase desired products and services from around the world via computer transactions. The economic, legal,and privacy implications of this have come to the attention of government agencies as well as they grapple with the economic, financial, personal, and other implications of these developments. These governments are producing numerous resources on electronic commerce or ecommerce as it is often called.

Purdue Libraries have numerous government publications on ecommerce located in the MEL and HSSE Libraries. Examples of subject headings you can use to search for government publications on ecommerce in the Library Catalog include:

Data Encryption (Computer Science) Law and Legislation United States
Electronic Commerce Government Policy United States
Electronic Commerce Law and Legislation United States
Privacy, Right Of United States
Signature (Law) United States Data Processing

The principal index for U.S. Government publications is the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications HSSE REF & Periodicals 016.353 UN36. An online version of this index is also available from 1994-present. The GPO Index on the Purdue Libraries Indexes web page also searches U.S. Government documents from 1976 to the present.

An additional useful index is Congressional Information Service (CIS) Index HSSE REF 328.73005 C76 covering congressional publications. Numerous U.S. Government agencies produce publications on electronic commerce. Examples from the executive branch and independent agencies include the Small Business Administration, the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, and other agencies.

Congressional committees are also good sources of electronic commerce information since they consider legislation affecting ecommerce. Examples of congressional committees producing publications on ecommerce include:

House Energy & Commerce Committee
(Reps. Steve Buyer (R-IN) and Baron Hill (D-IN) are members of this committee. Committee ranking member Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is a Purdue graduate.)
HSSE DOC Y 4.C 73/8
House Judiciary Committee
HSSE DOC Y 4.J 89/1:
House Small Business Committee
(Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) are members of this committee.)
HSSE DOC Y 4.SM 1:
Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Comm. HSSE DOC Y 4.C 73/7:
Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee HSSE DOC Y 4.G 74/9:
Senate Judiciary Committee HSSE DOC Y 4.J 89/2:
Senate Small Business Committee (Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) is a member of this committee.) HSSE DOC Y 4.SM 1/2:

Internet Resources
Increasing volumes of government information are on the Internet.  There are numerous government websites with ecommerce information.  GPO Access contains the full text of the U.S. Government´s major legal, legislative, and regulatory information sources such as congressional bills, public laws, congressional committee reports on legislation, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register

The Purdue Libraries Government documents department homepage is also a good starting point. Examples of other U.S. Government ecommerce websites include:

Commerce is E-Gov
Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce
Census Bureau E-Stats
National Telecommuications & Information Administration
Bureau of Industry & Security
International Trade Administration
Stat-USA (Purdue Users Only)
Justice Dept. Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section
Small Business Administration
U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
U.S. Trade Representative
Government Accountability Office
Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Research Service Reports (Courtesy-University of North Texas Library)

International Government Organizations

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
European Union Ecommerce
Organisation of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Electronic Commerce
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Ecommerce & Copyright
World Trade Organization (WTO)


Foreign Governments

Australia-National Office for the Information Economy
Australia-Dept. of Foreign Affairs & Trade
Industry Canada (Strategis)
Canada Electronic Commerce Task Force
France-Ministry of Economics, Finance, & Industry (In French)
Singapore Government Ebiz
United Kingdom-Dept. of Trade & Industry
United Kingdom-Business Link