A comment on the DTI Consultation Document. I am responding to the invitation to comment on the DTI Consultation Document entitled Building Confidence in Electronic Commerce. Much greater experience of the problems which will arise in practice is desirable. For the great majority of business transactions the prime requirements are accuracy and truthfulness. There are a host of ways in which misrepresentation of facts can be detected by business people who have a wealth of experience in building up trust and sensing when trust is misplaced.
Technology has no prospect of supplanting the fine- honed instincts developed in business life.
It is preferable and much safer to build on existing business practices than to introduce elaborate new ideas which are untried. Accordingly, may I suggest a method which provides the solid assurance of trustworthiness required on occasion in business life combined with the speed of verification which is essential in E-Commerce. The proposal is based on the establishment world-wide of Notary Bureaux who are in secure electronic contact with each other. Notary Bureaux should be created in every town. Individuals, Companies and Organizations using the Notary Bureau Service should register with their closest Bureau.