Law / Canada / Newfoundland and Labrador
Electronic Commerce Act, electronic contracts and electronic agents
S.N.L. 2001, c. E-5.2, ss. 20-22
In force.
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 another matter material to the formation or operation of a contract that is expressed electronically, including by touching or clicking an appropriately designated icon or place on a computer screen, as capable of forming a contract, unless the parties agree otherwise (s. 20(1)).
- Do not assume that a contract is unenforceable only because electronic means or information were used in its formation (s. 20(2)).
- Treat a contract formed by the interaction of an electronic agent and a natural person, or by the interaction of electronic agents, as capable of binding the parties (s. 21).
- If your electronic agent deals with natural persons, give them an opportunity to prevent or correct an error; where it does not, the transaction has no legal effect and is not enforceable if the person made a material error, notifies you as soon as practicable, takes reasonable steps to return or destroy the consideration and has not used or received a material benefit from it (s. 22).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
Unless the parties agree otherwise, an offer or 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 electronic information or by an action in electronic form, including touching or clicking on an appropriately designated icon or place on a computer screen or otherwise communicating electronically in a manner that is intended to express the offer, acceptance or other matter.
A contract shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability by reason only that electronic means or information were used in its formation. A contract may be formed by the interaction of an electronic agent and a natural person or by the interaction of electronic agents. An electronic agent is a computer program or other electronic means used to initiate an action or to respond to electronic documents or actions without review by a natural person at the time of the response or action.
A transaction entered into by a natural person interacting with the electronic agent of another person has no legal effect and is not enforceable if the natural person made a material error in the electronic information provided and the other conditions of section 22 are met. Nothing in the Act limits the operation of a law that expressly authorizes, prohibits or regulates the use of electronic information. The Act was assented to on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app crawls the web.