What is a reliable electronic signature?

Article 13 of China’s Electronic Signature Law sets four conditions, all of which must be met:⁠¹

1. the data used to create the signature belongs exclusively to the signatory;
2. at the time of signing, that data is under the signatory’s sole control;
3. any change to the signature after signing can be detected;
4. any change to the content or form of the document after signing can be detected.

Under Article 14, a reliable electronic signature has the same legal force as a handwritten signature or seal.⁠¹

Article 3 lists the exceptions: documents on personal relations such as marriage, adoption and inheritance; documents stopping public utility services such as water, heating and gas; and other cases where laws or administrative regulations exclude electronic documents.⁠¹

In the United States, the federal ESIGN Act provides that, in interstate or foreign commerce, a signature, contract or other record may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form.⁠² In Canada, electronic signatures are governed by federal and provincial laws: Part 2 of the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act deals with cases where federal laws contemplate the use of paper;⁠³ Ontario’s Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 provides that a legal requirement that a document be signed is satisfied by an electronic signature, and does not apply to wills, powers of attorney for financial affairs or personal care, negotiable instruments and certain other documents.⁠⁴

• When the non-disclosure agreement is signed and whom it binds: Confidentiality