Legal Framework
E-payments in Europe - Conference at the
Legal framework for e-commerce
A number of recent EU legal acts aim at fostering electronic commerce and ensuring a legally safe and sound conduct of e-payments:
– E-commerce Directive
– E-money Directives
– E-signature Directive
– Prudential supervision and related Directives
Commission is currently consulting the public on a possible legal framework for the Single Payment Area in the Internal Market
E signature
Electronic signatures, a means of verifying the identity of the user of a
computer system to control access or authorize a transaction, are
increasingly being used in electronic commerce. Several technologies can be used to
produce electronic signatures, the most prominent being digital signatures, which use
cryptographic techniques to provide data integrity and non-repudiation.
Other legislation introduced but not enacted was intended to
promote federal agency use of electronic signatures to enable electronic filing of
information. Definitions and
Technologies Used for Electronic Signatures
Electronic signatures are methods used to provide electronic authentication, a process of
verifying the identity of users of a computer in order to control access or
authorize transactions. In many states and industry sectors, electronic signatures attached to electronic records
are legally recognized in the same manner as handwritten signatures on
paper. Electronic signatures are used to establish identity in electronic commerce, and
to control access to facilities or systems. Electronic signatures are either being implemented
or planned for medical and financial records, and various government transactions. The
following technologies are forms of electronic signatures at various levels Password
or Personal Identification Number (PIN)—a set of numbers or characters shared only by the system and the user, and
usually encrypted if the authentication occurs over an open network Smart
card—a
plastic card similar to a credit card, except that it contains a microprocessor that can generate,
store, and process data, and can be programmed to be activated only when the
user enters a PIN or other identifier. Together with a reader device,
smart cards are CRS-2 used for telephone calling, electronic cash payments, access
to ATMs, and to store medical or financial data for individuals, and
provide greater security than a PIN, because the user must have both the
card and the PIN Biometrics—technologies
for measuring and analyzing human body characteristics such as fingerprints, eye retinas and
irises, voice patterns, facial patterns and hand measurements to authenticate their
identity. Biometric devices consist of a reader or sensor, software
that converts the received information into digital form (i.e., a series of
binary digits or bits), and if the data are analyzed, a database to store an
individual's known biometric data with the entered biometric data Digitized
signature—A graphical image of a handwritten signature, usually entered using a special digital pen and
pad input device. The input signature is automatically compared with a
stored copy of the digitized signature of the user, and authenticated if
the two signatures meet specifications for similarity Digital
signature—an
electronic signature that is produced on a message using a key that is known only
by the signer, and a signature algorithm that is
publicly known. The digital signature is unique to each message and
key combination. It can be used to verify the identity of the
signer and to provide data
integrity. It can also be used
to prove to a third party that the signature was in fact signed by the
signatory known as non repudiation.