Electronic Commerce and Information Act, electronic contracts and electronic agents
In force since .
A contract terms of service (ToS) rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Contract terms
As of .
What it requires
- Treat an offer, an acceptance or any other matter material to forming or operating a contract as capable of being expressed by an electronic document, or by an act such as touching or clicking on a computer screen or speaking that is intended to communicate it electronically, unless the parties agree otherwise (s. 19(1)).
- Do not assume a contract lacks legal effect or enforceability merely because an electronic document was used in its formation (s. 19(2)).
- Treat a contract formed by the interaction of an electronic agent and an individual, or by the interaction of electronic agents, as capable of binding the parties (s. 20(2)).
- If your electronic agent deals with individuals, give them an opportunity to prevent or correct a material error in an electronic document; if you do not, the contract has no legal effect where the individual promptly notifies you of the error, returns or destroys any consideration received as you instruct or in a reasonable manner, and does not benefit materially from it (s. 20(3)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
Unless the parties agree otherwise, an offer, the acceptance of an offer, or any other matter that is material to the formation or operation of a contract may be expressed by means of an electronic document, or by an act such as touching a computer screen, clicking on a computer screen or speaking that is intended to electronically communicate it. A contract is not denied legal effect or enforceability merely because an electronic document was used in its formation.
An electronic agent is a computer program or any other electronic means used to initiate an act, or to respond to an electronic document or act, without review by an individual at the time of the act or response. A contract may be formed by the interaction of an electronic agent and an individual or by the interaction of electronic agents.
A contract formed by the interaction of an individual with the electronic agent of another person has no legal effect if the individual made a material error in the electronic document and the electronic agent did not provide an opportunity to prevent or correct the error, the individual promptly notifies the other person of the error, and the individual returns or destroys any consideration and does not benefit materially from it.
Nothing in the Act affects the operation of any law that authorizes, requires or regulates the use of electronic means to record, retain or communicate information or documents. Part 3 of the Act, on electronic contracts and communications, came into force on .
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