What was the impact of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN)? What guidelines did it provide on the possibility of forging electronic signatures?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In the year 2000, Congress enacted a law entitled the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN), allowing consumers and businesses to sign contracts online and making e-signatures just as binding as ones in ink. Such contracts as those for bank loans and brokerage accounts may be entered into over the Internet 24 hours a day. This prevents delays that arise from the need for paper contracts to be written, mailed, signed, and then returned. With e-signatures, the cost of drawing up paperwork, mailing it, and storing agreements is eliminated in favor of electronic retention. The law went into effect on October 1, 2000, but questions were raised as to whether people would be able to forge electronic signatures on everything from online purchases to credit card applications. The law does not specify what constitutes a digital signature. Possible requirements include 1. a password that must be entered into a form on a Web page, with the website having to confirm that it belongs to a certain person; or 2. the use of hardware such as thumbprint scanning devices that plug into personal computers and transmit the thumbprint over the Internet to a business, which would keep it on file for authentication purposes.