Article Examines Digital Rights Management and Consumer Consent
Matwyshyn, Andrea M., "Technoconsen(t)sus" (May 2006). Posted July 19, 2006 [Link to download]
GPO to Adopt Document Encrytion Technology
Resistance to E-Signatures From Federal Agencies
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act ("ESIGN") went into effect on October 1, 2000. It provides that digital signatures are legally valid for use in commercial and government documents. However, compliance with the law has been slow at best, as courts and agencies such as the EPA continue to seek exemptions from implementing the technology.
Adobe's Digital Signature App
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Adobe will offer by year's end a server based solution for government and corporate clients that will allow the use of digital signatures on PDF documents.
E-Government Energy Plan for DOE
The Department of Energy's CIO issued this report, E-Government Strategic Action Plan, A Roadmap for Delivering Services, which was digitally signed by Spencer Abraham, Sec. of Energy. The DOE is pioneering the use of digital signatures to facilitate the dissemination of official documents electronically, saving printing costs. The technology used is from Adobe Systems and Entrust CygnaCom.
Digital Authentication in the EU and the US
A new article, Electronic Signatures: A Transatlantic Bridge? An EU and US Legal Approach Towards Electronic Authentication, provides a detailed analysis of how the two parties are approaching the issue of digital signatures in regard to the challenges presented by the e-commerce arena, based on the EU Directive on electronic signatures (1999) and the US E-Sign Act (2000).
Where Has All the Government Information Gone?
This article focuses on the tremendous, time consuming challenges that journalists have had to face to for decades in their efforts to obtain access to federal and state government documents in accordance with theFreedom of Information Act (FOIA), Title 5 of the United States Code, section 552. Subsequent to 9-11, there has been considerable press related to broad brush decisions that have been made by government officials to either remove documents entirely from public access for security reasons, or severly limit their availablity to such an extent that one could grow quite old in the process of attempting to obtain specific materials.
Companies to Develop Digital Signature Guidelines"
The Electronic Financial Services Council is spearheading an initiative called SPeRS (Standards and Procedure for Electronic Records and Signatures) to create acceptable non-partisan guidelines for digital signatures in e-commerce transactions.