Amended act renders electronic signatures legally equal to physical ones

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Electronic signatures have the same legal standing as physical ones in Taiwan, according to amendments passed Tuesday, which further elaborate on the scope of non-physical signatures.

The revised Electronic Signatures Act formally stipulates that electronic signatures and documents are functionally the same as physical ones, meaning people and agencies will not be able to deny the legitimacy of an electronic document or signature because of its non-physical form.

Although the Act was first promulgated in 2001, it failed to clarify this issue in its initial wording.

In addition, the amended Act adds that digital signatures are classified as a kind of electronic signature and that digital signatures and documents are functionally the same as physical ones as long as they adhere to related rules and regulations.

According to the current Act, an electronic signature refers to "data attached to and associated with an electronic record, and executed with the intention of identifying and verifying the identity or qualification of the signatory of the electronic record and authenticating the electronic record."

Meanwhile, a digital signature is "an electronic signature generated by the use of mathematic algorithm or other means to create a certain length of digital data encrypted by the signatory's private key, and capable of being verified by the public key," the act reads.

Another revision also passed Tuesday allows for the deletion of a clause that permitted administrative agencies to not follow the provisions of the Electronic Signatures Act.

It gives such agencies a buffer period of a year after the revised Act takes effect to prepare to comply with the Electronic Signatures Act, and the period can be extended to two years with the approval of the competent authority.

Currently, only the Ministry of Justice and Judicial Yuan are permitted to not follow the provisions of the Act, while other agencies have to amend existing laws to do so.

The revisions denote that electronic signatures can also be applied to recognizing certificates issued by international certification bodies and the signing of contracts related to cross-border trade under certain conditions, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said Tuesday, without specifying details.

One of the major backers of the amendments was opposition Kuomintang lawmaker Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞), who touted the amendments as "a stride forward by Taiwan toward becoming an island of digital tech."

In a Facebook post, Ko said the large-scale legal reforms were a long-time coming, 22 years after the Act was first passed, during which "the prevailing handset has gone from the Nokia 3310 to iPhones and tablets."

Ko said he began pushing for the reforms about four months ago when "the amendments still seemed to be a distant goal" and thanked the Digital Minister Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and lawmakers across party lines for making the changes possible so quickly.