This Wednesday, the California Supreme Court will tackle the issue of whether a state law designed to restrict the amount of personal information consumers must provide to make a credit card purchase applies to online commerce. Apple "a host of retailers ranging from Walmart to eBay" are leading a legal battle that argues the law doesn't apply to online commerce, reports "SiliconValley.com" (http://macte.ch/DarQM)

Apple argues that the law, the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, applies only to brick-and-mortar businesses and was last revised in 1991, when there wasn't much thought given to e-commerce, the article says. E-retailers insist that applying the law could heighten the risk of credit card fraud and identity theft because it would hamper their ability to verify credit card information.

However, consumer rights advocates say the law clearly applies to any credit card commerce, including in the online world. "SiliconVallye.com" says they argue that online merchants can protect against fraud without trampling on the privacy rights of cyberspace consumers by forcing them to fork over everything from addresses to phone numbers.