No additional signature criteria has been introduced by the regulations. The bill provides, in part, for the electronic filing of tax returns using electronic signatures. However, the bill did not define electronic signatures and, instead, directed the Secretary of Treasury to promulgate appropriate and technology neutral regulations. These regulations have yet to be introduced. The Act regulates interstate commerce by electronic means by permitting and encouraging the continued expansion of electronic commerce through a technically neutral standard of authentication and market-oriented purposes.
Agreements made in electronic form, such as online contracts, are specifically enforceable.
The bill applies only to electronic signatures used in commerce and securities transactions. These principles are similar to ones compiled and published by the Internet Law and Policy Forum in December 1997. Introduced by Representative. The bill would require authentication procedures for electronic signatures to be legally valid. Authentication would be acceptable if both the identity of the sender and a lack of alteration in the communication can be reliably established.