A Critique of Argentine E-Commerce Law and Recommendations for Improvement

Argentina has been experiencing rapid growth in internet accessibility and E-commerce, but its E-commerce laws need to be updated. The nation enacted a Digital Signature Law (“DSL”) in 2001. Digital signatures and documents are valid in Argentina if they meet stringent security requirements and can be used to comply with legal requirements for: a handwritten signature; a paper document; an original paper document; and retention of a paper document. A digital certificate must be issued by a licensed certification authority (“CA”) and must accurately identify the subscriber. The CA will issue a private key to the subscriber with the certificate, and the CA must revoke the certificate if security is compromised. CA’s are licensed and regulated by the federal government and may be audited and sanctioned for legal violations. CA’s may be responsible for damages incurred by third parties due to the CA’s acts or omissions. Exemplary attributes of this law include: (1) mandatory licensing of CA’s; (2) the rights and responsibilities of subscribers; (3) mandatory E-government with free CA service; and (4) the authorization of Registration Authorities to work for CA’s in the processing of applications for certificates. The DSL provides a satisfactory legal foundation for Argentine E-commerce, but it needs to be calibrated and supplemented. Recommended changes and additions to Argentine E-commerce law include: (1) enactment of a comprehensive Electronic Transactions Law which will incorporate all laws pertinent to E-commerce, including E-contract rules; (2) recognition of the validity of the electronic form in compliance with several additional requirements of other statutes, including notarization; (3) deletion of all exclusions from coverage, which will potentially allow E-signatures and E-documents to be used in all situations; (4) addition of rules for electronic automated contracts and electronic carriage contracts; (5) addition of consumer protections for E-buyers; (6) establishment of Information Technology Courts for resolution of E-commerce disputes; (7) creation of long-arm jurisdiction over foreign E-commerce parties; (8) licensing of the Argentine Post Office as a CA; (9) adoption of a National ID Card containing a digital signature which can be activated by a CA, including the Post Office; (10) enactment of computer crimes, including Intentional Injection of a Virus into a Computer System; and (11) enactment of a third-generation E-signature law to replace the first-generation DSL

The Digital Signature: Your Identity by the Numbers

Electronic commerce is the future of business. Today electronic commerce is a $3.6 billion industry. Thousands of businesses use the Internet to buy and sell their wares. As individuals and businesses increasingly use the Internet for commerce, contracts are moving online too. Because electronic commerce is conducted online, it is infeasible to make contracts through the traditional paper method. An electronic contract can be sent halfway across the world in seconds; whereas the same contract on paper would take days or weeks

Body language, security and e-commerce

Security is becoming an increasingly more important concern both at the desktop level and at the network level. This article discusses several approaches to authenticating individuals through the use of biometric devices. While libraries might not implement such devices, they may appear in the near future of desktop computing, particularly for access to institutional computers or for access to sensitive information. Other approaches to computer security focus on protecting the contents of electronic transmissions and verification of individual users. After a brief overview of encryption technologies, the article examines public-key cryptography which is getting a lot of attention in the business world in what is called public key infrastructure. It also examines other efforts, such as IBM’s Cryptolope, the Secure Sockets Layer of Web browsers, and Digital Certificates and Signatures. Secure electronic transmissions are an important condition for conducting business on the Net. These business transactions are not limited to purchase orders, invoices, and contracts. This could become an important tool for information vendors and publishers to control access to the electronic resources they license. As license negotiators and contract administrators, librarians need to be aware of what is happening in these new technologies and the impact that will have on their operations

The Digital Signature: the Next Step In Its Evolution

As we approach the end of the first year of the new millenium, we see a rapid growth in the enactment and evolution of legislation regarding the use and validity of digital signatures in countries throughout the world