Change the world (Introduction)

(Introduction draft - work in progress)

You don't need to be a lawyer in order to understand e-commerce policies. It is important to be aware of them as any unlawful action, if caught, may have you be subjected to the penalty clauses of these policies. Furthermore, the government and various interest groups, will from time to time suggest policies with the intent of protecting what they perceived is as good for the stakeholders involved. You can either be at the consumer end just receiving it, or be an active participant in the discussion, or even become a policy proponent.

I always believe that the future belongs to those who have conviction and passion in their role, even as an individual, in shaping it. Changing the world around us, especially in the field of policy making, requires having the guts to reach out, standing by principles, make bold moves, fearless initiatives, and be ready to sacrifice or burn relationship with those who stands your way. It would take building alliances with like-minded people (kings and queens of their own domain) and become a politician as you strive to conquer the hearts of people whom you need support. It can't be done alone.

And so I hope that as you go through the book and understand the policies, it will make you more concern on the Internet and its use today. For the policies I got involved in, insight on how they came about will be shared too.

The 2nd and primary goal is to make an I.T. policy advocate out of you. We always need young blood and fresh perspective. We need empowered individuals who can champion policies because they also have a stake in it such as entrepreneurs, consumers, business groups, users, among others.

They say that a book is not chosen by its reader, sometimes it chooses you. I hope that this will be one of them.

Make sure that your proposed legislation has a designated implementer

A proposed legislation must always have a clear government agency implementer defined. They can be tapped as allies in pushing for the legislation especially if its top leaders are convinced of its need. This is one of the lessons learned in pushing for cyber legislation.

However, don't just push for any government agency. Make sure that they have the right mandate to be able to implement the legislation. Avoid being caught in a political turf that exist whenever there are government agencies that overlaps in terms of function.

Always favor the one that has the infrastructure and resources to implement the legislation if passed.

Get research papers to support you

I noticed that a lot of groups who are lobbying for legislation today tend to just keep on calling to follow-up on the status of their regulation.

Lobbying for a law is like running a campaign where the goal is to win the hearts of the constituency that will push and approve it.

More than just a talk, an important component for legislative lobbying, as I mentioned in my lessons learned, is research. This would include:

• Research how countries have adopted the legislation and made progress with it. If your country will not have one in the near future, how will it lag behind and affect competitiveness.
• Research the opportunities and risks, with case studies, to demonstrate the importance of the legislation.
• Publish a primer, print or blog, that can be circulated to as many groups and individuals as possible to support the advocacy process.

Research such as this can also provide strong support or basis for the creation of a position paper to push for the passage of a legislation. It is ideal to be collaborating with a legislator at this stage and get their inputs on what information they shall need.

Only those who are willing to do the above will stand a chance to get notice and be taken for seriously for the legislation they are pushing for. Otherwise, it shall be treated as one of the many pending bills being advocated for but no strong and serious commitment to make it happen.

Get international organization endorsement

One of the lessons learned I experienced that influenced the passage of the E-Commerce Law in the Philippines was the support by international and local organizations who are lobbying parallel for the passage of the law.

It is important to collaborate with these groups and tap their resources to support or jointly:

• Come out with position paper, research paper, or white paper to justify the need for the legislation. I believe that any piece of bill that is not backed up by research will not get anywhere.
• Do courtesy call to legislators and government officials who can influence the passage of the bill.
• Conduct talks to various interest groups about the need for the legislation. The more faces are involved, it signifies the greater need for the legislation that is not merely by supported by one group.