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---
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://russell.flora.org/work/>
 FLORA SERVER UPDATES:  http://www.flora.org/flora/server/
 It really is about Copyright Law!  Microsoft is abusing copyright.
 <http://russell.flora.org/work/open-links.html#reallyis>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 22:08:03 -0800
From: Michael Gurstein <gurstein@techbc.ca>
Reply-To: Michael Gurstein <mgurst@techbc.ca>
To: CPI-UA <mailinglist-cpi-ua@list.techbc.ca>
Subject: Fw: [IPN] Ralph Nader: Digital signature legislation must protect
    consumers

> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: James Love <love@cptech.org>
> To: undisclosed-recipients:;
> Subject: [IPN] Ralph Nader: Digital signature legislation must protect 
> consumers
> Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 11:18:45 -0600 (CST)
> 
> http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000117E08E
> 
> Digital signature legislation must protect consumers
> 
>   By Ralph Nader
> 
> 01/17/2000 A window salesman talks an elderly woman into buying
> 10 windows for $10,000. She signs several papers, including one
> whereby she consents to receive the contract and all notices
> relating to the sale over the Internet at an e-mail address
> established for her by the salesman. She doesn't own or know how
> to use a computer. The window salesman doesn't provide any paper
> copies of the documents.
> 
> A savvy young man decides to buy a car but finds he must first
> sign a consent form similar to the one presented to the elderly
> woman. He objects,  but the salesman says if the young man
> doesn't agree to receive everything electronically, the car's
> price will rise by $1,000.
> 
> A professor shops the Web for a PC and enters into a contract to
> buy one. He agrees to receive the contract and other legal
> documents electronically. His copy of the contract is sent in
> WordPerfect 6.0 format; to open and print it, he must save it
> as a Microsoft Word file. The computer arrives but isn't the one
> he ordered or the one referred to in his contract. He contacts
> the computer dealer and is told that he received what the
> dealer's version of the contract indicates. The professor's
> attorney tells him he is stuck: He doesn't have a copy of the
> contract that he can use in court, and terms in the contract that
> he was sent don't match the terms on the Web page.
> 
> All of the situations depicted in these scenarios are currently
> illegal but would be made legal under HR 1714 -- the Third
> Millennium Digital Commerce Act -- which overwhelmingly passed
> the House of Representatives in November, despite the threat of a
> presidential veto. The bill, under the guise of facilitating
> e-commerce, would eviscerate numerous state and federal consumer
> protection laws. If the act is made law, states would be
> prohibited from passing e-commerce laws to protect their own
> citizens.
> 
> A much more judicious bill on the same subject passed the Senate
> soon after. However, the Senate version -- S 761 -- allows
> consenting parties to enter into contracts using electronic
> records and electronic signatures. States are permitted to
> protect their consumers as they deem fit.
> 
> The Federal Trade Commission and consumer groups have objected to
> the overreaching provisions of the House bill. The consumer
> groups have proposed the following basic standards for a federal
> law that governs e-commerce:
> 
>     1.Electronic disclosures should be permitted only when the
> transaction is initiated and consummated electronically.
> 
>     2.When electronic signatures are required, the technologies
> used must be reasonable, reflect an actual intent to sign a
> document (not merely opening a package of shrink-wrapped
> software) and be attached only to documents that are unalterable
> after the signature is attached.
> 
>     3.The consumer should be given the opportunity to accept or
> refuse disclosures electronically without surcharges.
> 
>     4.The consumer must be able to obtain paper copies at a
> reasonable cost and in a timely manner.
> 
>     5.The disclosures must actually be delivered to the consumer's
> e-mail address with a reply requested or must be retained on the
> seller's Web site for the duration of the contract.
> 
>     6.When disclosures are provided to consumers through a
> seller's or creditor's Web site, they must be retained for the
> duration of the contract.
> 
>     7.The electronic record must be accessible and retainable by
> the consumer. It must also be provided in a format that prevents
> alteration after it's sent, so it can be used to prove the terms
> of the record in a court of law.
> 
>     8.The consumer's failure to respond to the consent request
> should trigger paper disclosures, before the failure to respond
> triggers default.
> 
> Let Congress know that digital signature legislation must take
> into account the practical issues that are important for consumer
> protection.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Info-policy-notes mailing list
> Info-policy-notes@lists.essential.org
> http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/info-policy-notes
> 
> 
> 
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Fw: [IPN] Ralph Nader: Digital signature legislation must protect consumers (fwd)