The adoption of an electronic signatures measure by a unit of the European Union was seen in the U.S. as possibly leading to resolution of the differences between the EU and the U.S. over personal privacy protections.
The EU’s telecommunications ministers, meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday, unanimously adopted a law giving electronic signatures the same legal weight as an ordinary hand-written signature on paper.
“That action may be the breakthrough that leads to a resolution of our disagreement with the EU over personal privacy protections,” observed Richard A. Barton, the Direct Marketing Association’s senior vice president of Congressional matters.
Barton said the DMA supports both the EU initiative and similar measures pending in Congress because “they will make it easier and safer for consumers to make purchases from catalogers and other direct marketers over the Internet, regardless of where they are located.”
The privacy disagreement between the EU and the U.S. stems from the EU’s privacy directive requiring information gatherers, such as list compilers and brokers, direct marketers and mass mailers, to obtain an individual’s written permission before sharing their personal information with third parties.
The EU requirement runs counter to American policy and tradition–strongly endorsed by the Clinton Administration and the DMA–of offering people a chance to “opt-out” from having their personal information provided to third parties.
The EU’s new law, which its members must implement within 18 months, establishes minimum standards on security and liability that must be followed to ensure that electronic signatures are legally recognized and protected from being forged or improperly used, generally mirroring two measures U.S. lawmakers are considering.
Last month the U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. The Senate, which is considering similar legislation, the Millennium Digital Commerce Act, is expected to act on both measures by early Spring.
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