The Law and Technology

In this blog I will disucuss the confluence between traditional and emerging doctrines of law, and technological applications of the 21st Century.


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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Buyer Beware

I don't want to get into a rant here, but it really irks me when corporations blatantly try to capitalize on consumer's ignorance of the law regarding internet transactions.

Recently, a relative sent me an email advertising eFax's new e-Sign service. Here is the basic theory: You want to contract with me, but we are located in different areas. You send the contract to eFax, who forwards the contract to me via their software. I essentially type in my name and click a button, and we both receive a contract in PDF form that has been "legally and securely signed and executed."

To the untrained individual this may seem like a great way to get your contracts signed quickly and securely. However, the entire process is completely unnecessary. According to the federal e-Sign Act, any sort of mark, symbol, or action that is taken online and intended to serve as assent to contract is just as good as physically signing your name with a pen onto paper. So in other words, you can simply email me a contract and I could simply email you a reply that says, "I agree." Presto - we have legally entered into a contract.

This is but one example of how companies like eFax are trying to take money from people who are simply uninformed of the law. Unfortunately, there is really no one looking out for this type of behavior, so until someone steps forward, let the buyer beware.

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