Barriers to Online R.E. Businesses

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FTC organizing a three-day workshop in Washington to hear about barriers to e-commerce in several industries, including real estate and mortgages. Workshop will be held in October.
Barriers to Online R.E. Businesses

RISMEDIA, July 25 — The Federal Trade Commission is organizing a three-day workshop in Washington to hear about barriers to e-commerce in several industries, including real estate and mortgages.

FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris told a news conference in Washington last week that reducing the barriers to e-commerce could dramatically increase competition and benefit consumers.

The FTC is now evaluating workshop panelists and has also encouraged industry participant to submit written comments.

“The purpose of the workshop is to give us an increased understanding of the issues,” Muris says.

“FTC has been talking about these issues for a year, and now they want to shine some light on real estate industry rules and practices that restrict display of online listings,” says Steve DelBianco, executive director of NetChoice, a national education and advocacy group promoting e-commerce.

“E-commerce has tremendous potential, especially if anti-competitive barriers to dynamic new forms of Internet competition can be understood and eliminated,” says Ted Cruz, director of FTC’s Office of Policy Planning.

The workshop will be held at FTC Headquarters October 8-10.

NetChoice is a national education and advocacy group promoting convenience, choice, and commerce on The Net. Founding members include Orbitz, eBay, eRealty, and The Association for Competitive Technology.

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