Information Technology (IT) Act 2000

The above enactment is aimed at securing a regulatory environment of E-Commerce. The Dot.com boom that we are witnessing today is bound to bring about a paradigm shift in commercial practices and business ethics. As we enter the electronic era from a paper based system there is bound to be litigation of an entirely different kind that would bring about unprecedented results in law and issues pertaining to law.

The proposed Act seeks to lay down a methodology to define contracts that emanate through the INTERNET and give it legal sanctity. An effort is made to make a contract entered into digitally/electronically akin to a written contract made on paper. This is relevant from the stand point of complying with statutory writing, signature and record keeping requirements under the various existing Indian laws.

In order to encourage more and more businesses to resort to E-Commerce, the proposed Act seeks to bench mark records and signatures for the purpose of rating its authenticity and integrity. This sort of bench marking gives electronic records and signatures greater probity value from the standpoint of its evidentiary value in Courts of law.

The Act addresses methods of electronic contracting. Modes of `offer´ and `acceptance´ on the Internet is given legal recognition so as to make it capable of being performed. Such legal recognition gives it the requisite conclusiveness and formality to enable total accord and satisfaction to take place between the parties.

Legal principals relating to signatures made digitally by the users are elaborately dealt with. The kind of technology that goes into making a signature unique to its author is given legal recognition so as to bind signatories to their contractual obligations.

With a view to making the Governmental machinery pro-active, the Act provides, as an option, electronic filing of documents, offer and acceptance through the electronic media, issuance of sanctions and licenses electronically by the Government.

Under the proposed Act, net-work service providers are sought to be made accountable for their acts and omissions. Offences and their penalties are enumerated. Intentional damage or destruction of information systems or data, intentional "trespass" into a system and intentional theft of computer services, tampering with data, Interrupting network services and intentionally introducing viruses into computers or computer networks are made punishable. Government has the unfettered right to declare any system to be a protected system with the intent to protect data.

Territorial jurisdiction is a major issue that arises in E-Commerce transactions. This will lead to multiplicity of litigation. Many contracts are bound to get frustrated due to their impossibility of being performed on account of computer break downs and similar types of `force majeure´ situations on the Internet. Similarly existing data bases, domain registrations, logos, emblems, insignias, trade names, `look and feel´ concepts are bound to be pilfered by hackers. This will result in intellectual property related disputes. Many internet users are not competent to contract under existing contract law and therefore such contracts will be `void ab initio´. The law relating to evidence has been amended to include and admit electronic records as evidence in court proceedings.

Since DOT.COM starts ups are going to be the largest employers in the next decade with the highest turnover of employees one can expect a wide variety of legal problems arising out of an employer-employee relationship. There will large scale consolidation of DOT COM ventures in the next three years and one can expect litigation pertaining to mergers and acquisitions taking shape.

Governmental machinery will be most affected by E-Commerce and Government will soon have to embark on methods to counter measure E-Commerce related operations that fall outside the purview of commercial and tax laws. Government itself would embark upon E-Governance initiatives to bridge the digital divide in trade and commerce and make regulations more effective. The present day policies relevant to information technology are not going to be capable of taking care of a wide range of contingencies that arise out of fast changing technologies that is part of an industry known for its rapid technological obsolescence.