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by dragonwriter 3257 days ago
Digital sigbatures and electronic signatures are, to be sure, different things (you can digitally sign something without, for instance, any capture of intent to be a legal signsture) but, digital signatures are also a means of achieving a valid electronic signature as defined in those laws.

Obviously, people selling centralized document storage and electronic signature services are incentivized to obfuscate this as much as possible.
2 comments
u801e 3257 days ago
For some reason, I don't see a reply link for your most recent post [1].

> I didn't assert that case law made digital signatures equivalent to electronic signatures

You're correct; I didn't read your original response carefully enough. Also, the comment [2] that stated that the FSF does indeed allow for digital signatures (in the US at least) definitely settles the issues and answers my original question.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14824452)

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14823665

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u801e 3257 days ago
> digital signatures are also a means of achieving a valid electronic signature as defined in those laws.

If that's the case, then why does the FSF require scanning a printout with a physical signature (as one commenter mentioned) instead of opting for a digital signature of that document?

Does case law pertaining to the laws you cited support the assertion that digital signatures have the same legal meaning as an electronic or physical signature?

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dragonwriter 3257 days ago
> If that's the case, then why does the FSF require scanning a printout with a physical signature (as one commenter mentioned) instead of opting for a digital signature of that document?

I dunno, ask the FSF what their reasoning is. Among the numerous plausible explanations is that they are concerned about laws in some non-US jurisdictions, or that they haven't expended resources examining other options.

> Does case law pertaining to the laws you cited support the assertion that digital signatures have the same legal meaning as an electronic or physical signature?

I didn't assert that case law made digital signatures equivalent to electronic signatures (in fact, I explicitly pointed to one way in which it is possible for a digital signature to fail to meet the similar requirements in UETA and E-SIGN for an electronic signature.)

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