United StatesE-SIGN Act, contracts formed by electronic agents and the validity of electronic records
Also known as E-SIGN, Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
15 U.S.C. 7001(a), (c) and (h)
In force since .
An AI liability rule binding private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- Treat a contract or record that your electronic agent forms or delivers in a transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce as one that cannot be denied effect solely because an electronic agent acted; it binds the person to whom the agent's action is legally attributable (15 U.S.C. 7001(h), 7006(3)).
- Before you rely on an electronic record to give a consumer information that a law requires to be in writing, obtain the consumer's affirmative consent after a clear and conspicuous statement of the consumer's rights to paper and to withdraw consent, whether the consent covers one transaction or categories of records, the withdrawal procedure, and the hardware and software needed, and take the consent or its confirmation electronically in a manner that reasonably demonstrates the consumer can access the electronic form (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)(1)(A) to (C)).
- If a change in the hardware or software needed to access or retain electronic records creates a material risk that the consumer cannot access or retain a later record, give the consumer a statement of the revised requirements and of the right to withdraw consent without fees, and obtain consent again (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)(1)(D)).
- Where a law requires you to retain a contract or record, keep an electronic record that accurately reflects the information in it and stays accessible, in a form capable of being accurately reproduced, to everyone entitled to access it for the required period (15 U.S.C. 7001(d)(1)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
A contract or other record relating to a transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because its formation, creation, or delivery involved the action of one or more electronic agents, so long as the action of any such electronic agent is legally attributable to the person to be bound (section 7001(h)).
An electronic agent is a computer program or an electronic or other automated means used independently to initiate an action or respond to electronic records or performances in whole or in part without review or action by an individual at the time of the action or response.
Separately, a signature, contract, or other record relating to such a transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form, and a contract may not be denied effect solely because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation (section 7001(a)).
Where a law requires information to be provided to a consumer in writing, an electronic record satisfies the requirement only if the consumer has affirmatively consented to its use and has not withdrawn that consent, after receiving the clear and conspicuous statement that section 7001(c)(1)(B) describes.
A State law may modify, limit, or supersede section 7001 only if it enacts the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act as approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1999, or sets alternative procedures that are consistent with the Act and do not require or favor a specific technology. Section 7003 excepts records such as wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, and court orders and official court documents. The Act took effect on , with a later date of for requirements that a record be retained.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app deploys a chatbot or collects electronic signatures.