The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, or the E-sign Act, was passed by the United States Congress to have electronic records and signatures as valid ways of making contracts and documents legal via electronic processes. The new law enabled a lot of commercial transactions to be made legal through more convenient online processes, eliminating the need for physical presence in order to have contracts and other documents signed.
The E-sign Act gave a lot of power to esignatures by making them officially binding and just as effective as regular signatures. The law also meant that esign will be under similar jurisdiction as other forms of verification, with similar penalties admissible. According to the E-sign Act, electronic signatures "may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form". This means that electronic verification processes should not be used lightly, and that electronic signature users should really use them the way they do their own signatures.
The ESIGN Act also made it possible for people from different parts of the world to use esignatures and other digital means of verification to sign and authenticate important documents from other areas. Since the law's passing, many businesses have now had to worry less and less about having contracts and transactions signed and made official with clients in other parts of the globe, as they can now handle almost every legal document over the internet.
There are some important requirements necessary to make an electronic signature legal. These requirements should be present before any esign can be used officially and legally.
One of the main requirements of the E-sign Act for making an e-signature legal is that the signature must be unique to its user. This can be done in a variety of ways. Typically, there are actions that need to be performed by users that are unique to them alone before being able to use their esign. For example, users might have to write a password or some other information that's needed to denote uniqueness. Some others require email acknowledgment. Generally, it's about the user being able to confirm the uniqueness of his esignature for free that helps to pass this requirement.
The electronic signature also has to be verified. After verifying by email or password, the esignature is then associated to its user. The important thing is that these users can verify their own esign by privately activating it.
Another requirement is for electronic signatures to be used by only one person. Like regular signatures done with a pen, esignatures will likewise be made liable to forgery allegations when used by more than one user. One advantage to esigns is that their passwords protect them from being used by individuals other than their own user.
Some elements were also put in place to really make electronic verification legal. Electronic documents, once signed with electronic signatures, must be protected from alterations. Users need to make sure of an electronic document's stability first before signing anything. This makes sure that their e-signatures cannot be used against them.
The passing of the E-sign Act was definitely the event that made electronic signatures available for legal usage. With its safety parameters and verification processes, electronic signatures are now being used regularly for a lot of businesses processes conducted online.