[Ecommerce] proposed digital signatures statement

[James Love]

This is a draft.. please don't circulate.   Suggestions are welcome

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    Today a consumer group criticized the new US law on digital
signatures.    Someone from CPT says:

   "People should understant that this bill is about legal issues.  It
does not create any new technology.  

   "The e-sign bill increases the legal obligations on consumers who
interact with busineses on the Internet and with other electronic
communications.  

   "The E-sign Act raises the legal status of agreements that are
'signed' using electronic technologies.  On the one hand, it overides
other federal and state statutes and regulations, and declares as a
general rule, that no contract or signature can be denied legal effect,
solely on the grounds that it was in electronic form.   On the other
hand, it fails to guarntee that consumers will be protected from fraud
or unfair business practices in a wide range of matters.

   "In general, Digital signatures may leave consumers more vulnerable
to unauthorized use, compared to conventional signatures.  Digital
signature technology residing on a consumer's personal computer can
hardly be expected to be shielded from malicious intrusions.  Unlike a
handwritten signature, if a digital signature is stolen or forged, the
legitimate owner will be hard-pressed to prove that it was used
fraudulently.  The E-sign Act contains no provision to limit the
liability of consumers victimized by fraudulent
spending.                 

  "Congress rejected pleas from consumer groups that the e-sign bill
include a provision to ensure that a contract cannot be altered once a
consumer's digital signature is affixed.  The E-sign fails to require
that a contract be 'locked' after a consumer signs his digital
signature, opening a loophole to changes in contractual text,
inadvertent or otherwise and eroding the consumer's ability to reproduce
copies of digital contracts at a later date, or admit such documents as
evidence.               

   "The digital signature bill is likely to hurt consumers lacking
access to the Internet, especially low-income consumers and
minorities.   The E-sign Act does allow the consumer the choice of
receiving a contract in electronic or paper form.  However, given the
prevalence of adhesion contracts in business-to-consumer transactions,
this 'choice'
may very well be "take-it-or-leave it," or constrained by penalty fees
for paper-based contracting, a practice not prohibited by the
legislation.