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Press Release Wednesday, February 16, 2000 |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - With a new session of Congress underway,
congressional leaders say that one of their top priorities is an
electronic commerce bill that would give computer-generated digital
signatures the legal weight of ink-and-paper signatures.
The bill is the most far-reaching legislation to deal with
e-commerce ever considered by Congress. It would allow consumers to
use personal signatures in electronic form to authorize on-line
transactions, such as automobile purchases, home loans, and stock
market investments.
There are two different versions of the digital signatures bill, a
House version (HR 1714) approved on November 9 and a Senate version
(S. 761) approved on November 19. Lawmakers are now working on a
compromise version of the bill.
"Both versions of the bill need work, but the House bill is
particularly lacking the kind of protections that consumers need,"
said Frank Torres, legislative counsel for Consumers Union, the
publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.
Torres says the final version of the bill should contain five key
protections for consumers:
· The bill should put all businesses on the same footing as far as consumer protections are concerned. On-line businesses should be under the same obligations as brick-and-mortar businesses to disclose information about product safety, late fees, payment schedules, and related items.
· The bill should require that consumers be informed about the implications of receiving disclosures via the Internet. If a consumer agrees to receive notices electronically, the business should make certain that the consumer has the ability to receive and read the notices. An e-mail message may be unreadable because the recipient does not have the proper software. Businesses should send a preliminary e-mail to ensure that the consumer can open and read future notices.
· The bill should ensure that some important notices, such as notices of default, are sent in a form that allows the receipt to be verified by the sender. If an electronic notice is not verified, businesses should be obligated to check to see if that consumer is still able to get messages via e-mail. It should also recognize that businesses should consider sending more urgent notices, such as foreclosure and utility shutoff, through traditional mail instead of e-mail.
· The bill should allow federal agencies and state governments to implement this law so that consumer protections such as disclosure laws and safety notifications are not circumvented.
· The bill should ensure that documents received by consumers online would be admissible in legal proceedings.
"People who shop on the Internet should get the same consumer
protections as people shopping at the mall, the bank, the car lot, or
any other business," said Torres. "Digital signatures will go a long
way toward helping e-commerce grow and succeed, but only if consumers
can use them with the confidence that they will get the proper
notices and disclosures about their online transactions."
Consumers Union, Publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is an independent nonprofit testing, educational and information organization serving only the consumers. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public and protect consumers.
