Out-Law News 1 min. read

ICO tasked with enforcement of new UK rules on electronic identification


The UK information commissioner will be responsible for monitoring compliance with new rules on electronic identification.

The Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations have been laid before parliament by the UK government and are scheduled to come into force on 22 July.

The Regulations implement EU rules on electronic identification (e-ID) and trust services that were enacted into EU law in 2014.

The EU regulation is designed to promote mutual recognition among EU countries of national electronic identification schemes that may operate. It also imposes new security obligations on trust service providers as well as rules on authentication of individuals and privacy.

Trust service providers are companies that create, verify and validate electronic signatures, seals, time stamps, registered delivery services and certificates related to those services or certificates for website authentication, or which preserve electronic signatures, seals or certificates for such services.

Under the EU framework, trust service providers can apply for 'qualified status' and can display an "EU trustmark to indicate in a simple, recognisable and clear manner the qualified trust services they provide".

The EU rules also lay out standards for enabling electronic signatures to take on the "equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature". Similar measures are designed to give recognition to electronic seals and electronic time stamps on digital documents to validate and verify online agreements.

Trust service providers in the UK that breach the e-ID regulations face being fined £1,000 by the ICO, although those businesses can raise an appeal before the Information Rights Tribunal.

The UK's Electronic Signatures Regulations will be revoked when the new rules take effect, although existing certificates issued to confirm the identity of e-signatories will continue to be recognised under the new regulations until they expire.

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