President Clinton on Friday signed into law a bill that makes electronic signatures as valid as their ink counterparts.
On the grounds where the Declaration of Independence was signed with a quill pen, Clinton used a more modern way of signing the "Digital Signature" bill -- a smart card encoded with numbers.
The bill, officially known as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, gives electronic signatures and documents the same force in law as those done with ink on paper.
The act eliminates legal barriers to using electronic technology to form and sign contracts, collect and store documents and send and receive notices and disclosures.
"Under this landmark legislation on-line contracts will now have the same legal force as equivalent paper contracts," Clinton said.
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