This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.
ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
WHILE PROTECTING CONSUMERS:
THE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT
President Clinton today will sign S. 761, the "Electronic Signatures in
Global and National Commerce Act." After the signing the bill in the
traditional manner, the President will make brief public remarks and
demonstrate the kind of new electronic signature technology that
Americans will be able to use to sign legally binding contracts on-line.
The Act will:
Eliminate legal barriers to using electronic technology to form
and sign contracts, collect and store documents, and send and receive
notices and disclosures; -- Require that consumers affirmatively
consent to doing business on-line and benefit on-line from consumer
protections equivalent to those in the paper world; and -- Ensure
that government agencies have authority to enforce the laws, protect the
public interest, and carry out their missions in the electronic world.
ELIMINATING LEGAL BARRIERS TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Today, companies may be deterred from doing business on-line because of
uncertainty about whether their on-line contracts will be legally
enforceable. Laws on the books sometimes require that contracts
documents be written on paper and signed with pen-and-ink signatures.
Too often, firms have to memorialize their transactions on paper and
send hard copies back and forth for signature, slowing down the pace of
business. But the new law will overcome these barriers by:
Preempting Paper Requirements: The Act provides that no contract,
signature, or record shall be denied legal effect solely because it is
in electronic form. -- Establishing Technology Neutrality: The Act
precludes, in most cases, requirements that one type of technology be
used instead of another. -- Ensuring Accuracy of Electronic Records:
The Act provides that most electronic contracts and records are only
legally enforceable if they are in a form that is capable of being
retained and accurately reproduced for later reference by relevant
parties.
PROVIDING CONSUMER CHOICE AND EQUIVALENT CONSUMER PROTECTION
If we are to achieve the full potential of electronic commerce, American
consumers need to have confidence that they have the same protections
on-line that they have in the paper world.
Preserves Consumer Protections: The Act makes clear it does not
effect existing requirements, other than those requiring paper. Thus,
existing consumer protection laws, including those establishing the
content and timing of notices and disclosures and prohibiting fraud and
deception, will continue to apply. -- Requires Consumer Choice: The
Act makes clear that it does not require any consumer or other person to
agree to use or accept electronic records, signatures, or contracts. --
Protects Consumers from Confusion or Deception: The Act requires that
consumers affirmatively consent to use of electronic notices, records,
and contracts. Prior to consenting, the consumers must be given notice
of their rights and the firm must verify that the consumer will be able
to access electronically the information they will be provided. Too
many Americans have received emails with attachments that cannot be
opened. This provision will protect consumers from predators who might
confuse or coerce them into agreeing to receive electronic notices they
have no capacity to access or retain.
PROTECTING TAXPAYERS AND ENFORCING THE LAWS
Today, government requirements mandate that companies sometimes keep or
generate voluminous paper records, documenting their transactions.
Record retention requirements serve an important public purpose -
allowing agencies to monitor for program compliance, protect taxpayers
from waste, fraud, and abuse, and enforce the law. In many cases, these
same goals can be met using digital technologies through:
Electronic Record Retention: The Act requires that agencies allow
most records to be retained electronically, but government may establish
appropriate performance standards for the accuracy, integrity, and
accessibility of records retained electronically, to ensure that
compliance with laws can be determined, taxpayers can be protected, and
agency mission can be accomplished. -- Electronic Filing: The Act
also allows government to establish standards and formats for government
filings.
THE BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE FOR AMERICAN BUSINESS, AMERICAN CONSUMERS,AND THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
Our Nation has benefited dramatically from the onset of the digital age.
The Commerce Department reports that information technology
industries (IT) have contributed 30 percent of U.S. economic growth
since 1995. -- Economists have consistently found that IT accounts
for half or more of the recent acceleration in U.S. productivity growth:
from 1.4 percent per year from 1973 through 1995 to 2.8 percent per
year since 1995. -- IT accounts for two thirds of the growth in
overall business investment in recent years. -- The potential
benefits of the IT revolution reach beyond the IT industry itself to
improve the productivity of all segments of our economy.
But still there are barriers - especially legal uncertainty - to the use
of technology for business-to-business and business-to-consumer
commerce. This legislation will help us to achieve the full benefits of
electronic commerce.
Companies will be able to contract online to buy and sell products
worth millions of dollars. -- Businesses will able to collect and
store transaction records that once filled up vast warehouses on servers
the size of a laptop. -- Consumers will have the option of buying
insurance, getting a mortgage, or opening a brokerage account on-line,
without waiting days for the paperwork to be mailed back and forth.