Arnoud Engelfriet

Biography

Arnouds interest in IT and Internet law goes back to 1993, when he started studying computer science and discovered the law applied to Internet.

After obtaining his MSc in computer science, with a thesis on digital signatures and the law, Arnoud became a patent attorney at Royal Philips Electronics. He however kept his interest in IT law in general and started working on a master's degree in information law. He subsequently switched to the IT boutique shop ICTRecht in 2008.

Arnoud publishes extensively on IT and computer law. He is a regular author of the magazine 'Tijdschrift voor Internetrecht' and contributes on dozens of websites, ranging from Tweakers, Rechtenforum, Security.nl and Marketingfacts to BoingBoing, Slashdot and his own blog. His Dutch book on internet law (De wet op internet) sold over 2000 copies.

Presentation: Digital signatures and the law: the good, the bad and the ugly

Digital signatures are legally valid, if created using a "secure means" as the law puts it. The actual list of legal requirements is a full A4 page long, and compliance checklists can easily run into the 20+ pages if you want to do it right. And even if you manage to do everything the law asks, the signature is merely "suspected to be valid" until proof to the contrary is presented.

In contrast, the legal rules for analog signatures are three lines long and compliance rules end at "please use ink, not pencil, blue ink preferred". And such signatures have been used for centuries without anyone worrying about how easily signatures can be forged - not even when stamps and signature robots appeared.

In this presentation we will examine this most peculiar contrast and try to identify its causes. Also, we will try to find some alternative for the legal regime that could be more effective than what we have now. Your input is greatly appreciated during the talk.