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E-Business Law in China: Strengths and Weaknesses

China has recently taken steps to change existing laws pertaining to e-commerce that are outdated. Before the electronic signatures act, the only way to certify a documents validity in china was by signature or seal. The previous law in china stated that a paper message and an electronic message are the same, but no rules were stipulated as in what forms signatures could be in an electronic message.

The current Chinese law says that an electronic signature is "‘data in electronic form contained in or attached to a data message and that is used to identify the signatory and indicate his endorsement of the contents of such document." This is important because it recognizes the function of the signature, thus this law can evolve with changing technology. The law also clearly outlines the definitions of all the relevant terms. However it does not clearly indicate the procedures to go about acquiring an approved digital signature. Also, it is unfortunate that in the current law, the holder of the signature is liable for any damages or costs that is caused through the misuse of their digital signature. There are some guidelines to help protect your digital signature. Use corded keyboards and store information on flash drives with password protected documents

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