Clinton signs e-signature bill

President Clinton signed, with both ink pen and smart card bearing his digital "John Hancock," the law that makes digital signatures legally binding in most online commerce. The bill will not only enable online contracts, it will act as an incentive for many users to learn the basics of strong encryption technologies. In the past, users have not embraced encryption, apparently because it is an admittedly confusing technology. As the software to create unforgable signatures includes, almost by definition, the ability to encrypt, it appears that the widespread adoption of digital signatures could inadvertently spread the practice of encryption.

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