The Federal Trade Commission told the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications late last month that Internet business could grow from $2.6 billion in 1996 to $220 billion in 2001 if consumers are confident that the Web is safe from fraud.
In its testimony, the FTC said it has brought more than 35 federal law-enforcement actions to reduce Internet fraud. It also announced the launch of Consumer Sentinel, a binational, multistate computerized consumer fraud database that uses the Net to provide secure access to consumer complaints for more than 150 law-enforcement organizations across the United States and Canada.