Who is responsible for the onus of proof on online fraud transactions? In perspectives of the eCommerce Law and Privacy Investment

Abstract

In this study, we examine why there exist different legal systems in electronic commerce or online financial trading. When a fraud online transaction occurs and the online customer disputes the transaction, the online customer takes responsibility for the proof of her/his argument in many European countries while in the U.S., the burden of proof lays on the firm. This paper analyzes how these two different legal systems exist and how these can be applied to electronic commerce law. In particular, this paper intends to find the optimal level of e-commerce firms' investment on security and analyzes how security investments can be related to firm's profits and consumer's welfare depending on IT infrastructure and social trust environment. More on, this paper can be contributed to provide guidelines for regulatory framework on ecommerce online transactions and discuss social welfare implications.