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To: Orlando Stevenson who wrote (15548)	5/7/1999 9:23:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 41369

House Republicans offer digital signature bill WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - Digital signatures, unique computer-based codes used to identify specific individuals, would gain greater legal acceptance under a bill proposed on Thursday by leading Republican members of the House Commerce Committee. "Electronic signatures have been one of the biggest barriers to the growth of electronic commerce," said Tom Bliley, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the committee. "This bill fixes this problem by ensuring electronic signatures carry the same legal protections and guarantees as written signatures." A digital signature allows the user to agree to a binding contract, authorize a credit card payment or enter into other transactions without requiring the exchange of a physical signature -- often an impossibility when deals are done over the Internet. The measure drew quick endorsements from a host of companies leading the way in electronic commerce, including International Business Machines Corp. <IBM.N>, America Online Inc. <AOL.N> and Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> Microsoft senior attorney Jack Krumholtz praised the bill, one of several introduced in Congress to promote use of electronic signatures, for permitting digital signatures without dictating what types of technology would be permitted. "Your legislation is soundly based on the essential principle of technological neutrality," Krumholtz said in a letter to Bliley released by the Commerce Committee. The bill would provide for the acceptance of electronic signatures in interstate commerce and in the securities industry, and directs the Secretary of Commerce to promote the use of such measures overseas as well.