Law / Canada / Prince Edward Island
Electronic Commerce Act, electronic contracts
R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. E-4.1, ss. 18-21
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 or an acceptance expressed by means of an electronic document as capable of forming a contract, unless the parties agree otherwise (s. 19(1)).
- Do not assume that a contract is invalid or unenforceable solely 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).
- If your electronic agent deals with individuals, give them an opportunity to prevent or correct an error in an electronic document; where it does not, the document has no legal effect and is not enforceable by you if the individual notifies you of the material error as soon as practicable, takes reasonable steps to return any consideration, and has used or received no material benefit from it (s. 21).
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 an electronic document. A contract shall not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely by reason that an electronic document was used in its formation. A contract may be formed by the interaction of an electronic agent and an individual or by the interaction of electronic agents.
An electronic agent is a computer program or any electronic means used to initiate an action or to respond to electronic documents or actions in whole or in part without review by an individual at the time of the response or action. An electronic document made by an individual with the electronic agent of another person has no legal effect and is not enforceable by the other person if the individual made a material error in the document and the four conditions of section 21 are met.
Nothing in the Act limits the operation of any provision of any enactment that expressly authorizes, prohibits or regulates the use of electronic documents.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app crawls the web.