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It is Now Official!
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Friday June 16, 2000 11:57 AM ET Senate Approves Electronic Signature Measure By Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A measure that gives electronic signatures and documents the same force in law as their paper counterparts won unanimous approval in the U.S. Senate on Friday, two days after the House passed the bill. Under the proposed law, consumers and businesses will be able to sign checks, complete loan applications and contract services all online in a further broadening of e-commerce. ``It would ensure that consistent rules for validating electronic signatures and transactions apply throughout the country, thus providing industry with the legal certainty needed to grow electronic commerce,'' Sen. John McCain (news - web sites), an Arizona Republican, said during debate on Thursday. He said the measure will cut costs while boosting confidence in consumers who are timid about security and protection when using the Internet to conduct business. The measure approved 87-0 by the Senate, now goes to President Clinton who has said he will sign the legislation. On Wednesday, the House voted 426-4 in favor of the bill. Consumers will still be able to choose whether to use an electronic or traditional handwritten signature but the bill requires certain documents to still be sent on paper to carry their full force. That would include cancellation of basic services like water, power and gas as well as court orders, eviction notices, cancellation of health or life insurance, product recalls and paperwork to accompany shipments of hazardous materials. ``Until advances in electronic technology eliminate ... concerns and until the vast majority of Americans are comfortable using the technology of the New Economy, consent to use electronic records requires special care and attention,'' said Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. Some industry experts have expressed skepticism about how quickly electronic signatures will enter the broader marketplace. ``The bill is not the final word on many issues that are of great concern to consumers and businesses alike before they feel comfortable adopting digital signatures for transactions,'' said Bill Brice, the chief executive of AlphaTrust.com, a provider of encryption and digital signature solutions. He said businesses should ask vendors what kind of measures are in place to ensure authentication of signatures, what risk protection is there against fraud, whether customer data is protected and privacy guarded and how technically secure, legally binding electronic signatures can be integrated into operations. The bill also allows Financial institutions to seek certain exemptions from federal regulators from some of the consumer consent requirements under limited circumstances. Additionally, the measure will allow companies to replace paper records with electronic records but allow regulators to define document integrity standards that are required to insure against fraud, according to McCain. Once final approval is reached and President Clinton signs the measure, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act would take effect Oct. 1, apart from the electronic record-keeping provisions of the measure. |
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ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE (E-SIGN) ACT To protect all your documents and media from cyber-theft, you need a way to secure and authenticate them... Check back here often to see what's new and updated...
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