[109507] in Cypherpunks
Eshoo Bill on Digital Signatures
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Stewart)
Fri Mar 26 23:40:16 1999
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 20:27:33 -0800
From: Bill Stewart <bill.stewart@pobox.com>
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Reply-To: Bill Stewart <bill.stewart@pobox.com>
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,34322,00.html?st.ne.lh..ni
Digital signature bill hits Congress
By Courtney Macavinta
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 26, 1999, 1:10 p.m. PT
In a move to boost e-commerce and enforce digital contracts,
legislation to create federal
standards for businesses to accept electronic signatures was
introduced in both houses of
Congress today.
There are numerous forms of digital/electronic signatures, which
raises a swarm of legal and liability
issues. E-signatures range from the equivalent to hand-signed paper
documents to certified IDs similar to
a passport or driver's license. The most talked-about digital
signatures are secured by encryption and
attached to email messages and other digital documents and handed
out by a "certificate authority" that
takes steps to verify a person's true identity.
The Millennium Digital Commerce, introduced today by Sen. Spencer
Abraham (R-Michigan) and Rep.
Anna Eshoo (D-California), aims to start clearing up these murky
waters by establishing the legality of
digital signatures exchanged during commercial transactions.
"This legislation ensures that state and federal regulations do not
interrupt the rapid growth of
e-commerce," Eshoo said in a statement. "This legislation would
establish a national uniform legal
framework for e-commerce."
The Millennium Digital Commerce Act builds on Abraham's Government
Paperwork Elimination Act,
which was signed into law last year to mandate that U.S. agencies
accept forms signed with digital
signatures.
Under a broad definition, the new bill would make commercial
contracts signed with electronic signatures
legally binding.
"This is not about the government anymore. This is about contract
law between private parties and it
reaches any agreement that uses an e-signature," said Alan Davidson,
staff counsel at the Center for
Democracy and Technology.
The bill defines "electronic signature" as "a signature in
electronic form, attached to or logically
associated with an electronic record…any symbol, sound, or process
executed or adopted by a person or
entity, with intent to authenticate or accept a record."
The legislation also would authorize a federal study to determine if
government agencies imposing any
barriers to electronic transactions. And in some instances, the new
bill could override state efforts, but
leaves room for interpretation.
"Each jurisdiction that enacts such laws should have the right to
determine the need for any exceptions to
protect consumers and maintain consistency with existing related
bodies of law within a particular
jurisdiction," the bill states.
Like any proposal, the bill's potential impact still is vague, and
it doesn't address complicated issues such
as when exactly a consumer is entering into a contract over email,
for example.
Still, some observers say the bill is good first step.
"There are three reasons to pass electronic signature legislation:
to resolve the questions of its legality; to
address whether you can trust messages signed with digital
signature; and thirdly to specify the rules for
using them," said Thomas Smedinghoff, an attorney with McBride Baker
& Coles who also is chairman of
the electronic commerce division for the American Bar Association.
"This legislation really only addresses the first issue of
legality--which is taking the first step," he added.
"One benefit is that it provides a universal definition of what is
an electronic signature, and in the proper
way, that its basically any electronic symbol made with the intent
to authenticate a record."
Related news stories
• Pennsylvania seeks to legalize digital ID March 19, 1999
• Digital certificates move toward interoperability January 19, 1999
• Digital certificates for the mainstream January 18, 1999
• Congress spends the year online December 30, 1998
