The Cabinet on Thursday approved a slew of draft amendments to the Electronic Signatures Act (電子簽章法), specifying the legality of electronic signatures and introducing provisions to pave the way for their international interoperability.
The draft amendments to the act, a law that has been in effect since 2002, but has not undergone any amendments to date, were proposed by the Ministry of Digital Affairs and are to be sent to the Legislative Yuan for review, the Executive Yuan said.
Specifying that electronic signatures and signatures on paper have equal functionality and legality, the draft bill introduces a key provision stating that “electronic documents and electronic signatures shall not be denied solely because of their electronic form,” according to a document submitted to the Cabinet by the ministry.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
To facilitate mutual recognition of electronic signatures between Taiwan and the international community, the government would also be able to acknowledge the legality of electronic signatures issued by overseas and domestic institutions that comply with international standards, set by organizations such as the EU or the International Organization for Standardization, a ministry statement said.
“In terms of international application, as long as the certification technologies of both parties are interoperable and security conditions are equivalent, Taiwan’s courts can recognize the legality of the electronic documents,” the ministry said, including examples such as Acrobat Sign and DocuSign.
Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Lee Huai-jen (李懷仁) told a news conference that one of the key points of the amendments is to work toward the integration of certification technologies with other nations.
He said that once certification authorities in foreign nations receive Taiwan’s approval, Taiwanese and foreign entities could use electronic signatures on their official documents.
Digital signatures are more secure than general electronic signatures in terms of effectiveness, strength and security standards, because digital signatures utilize encrypted private keys and are issued by government-approved certification authorities, Lee said.
Digital signatures use algorithms or other methods to process an electronic document into digital data and encrypt the signatory’s private key to create an electronic signature, the draft amendments say.
Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said at a news conference at the ministry on Thursday afternoon that she had received support from different political parties regarding the draft amendments and hoped to pass them in this legislative session.
“In terms of the public, in any situation requiring a signature or seal, after the passage of the new [draft amendments to the] Electronic Signatures Act, individuals would be able to use electronic signatures as long as the other party does not object,” Tang said.
The ministry would put procedures in place to ensure digital signatures are verified before accounts associated with them are able to publish investment advertisements on Facebook, Google or Line — the three major online advertising platforms in Taiwan — to reduce investment fraud and fake advertising, she said.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
RSS