12 TELECOM & DIGITAL ECONOMY
Digital contracts and e-signatures: Things to consider before clicking “I agree” Siranya Rhuvattana
During the past few months amid COVID-19, we have witnessed drastic business models changing, more adoption of remote working programs as well as increased use of technology, both for customer services improvement and for managing organizational changes. These conditions have given rise to growth in online transactions and greater demand for electronic execution of legal documents. There are a few things to consider, such as those listed below, before an authorised director or other authorised person in an organisation takes action via electronic means.
Do Thai laws recognise e-contracts and e-signatures? Yes. The Electronic Transactions Act B.E. 2544 (2001) (“ETA”) recognises digital contracts and e-signatures. Parties can execute a contract, give consent, make an offer, accept an offer, and send a notice in an electronic form. The legal effect of these electronic transactions cannot be denied, if the requirements under the law are met.
What is an e-signature? E-signatures can be a letter, character, number, sound or any other symbol created in electronic form and affixed to electronic data. The purpose of e-signatures is to establish the link between a person and the electronic data, and to show that the signatory approves the electronic
UPDATE 3/2020
information which has the e-signature. Samples of general e-signatures include use of a one-time password (OTP), biometric data such as finger prints, initials at the end of an email, and a scanned wet signature attached to a document. Taking an action via an electronic method could also be deemed as entering an e-signature, whether it be by sending an email confirmation of purchase orders, clicking the agree button to terms of services, or double clicking the mobile phone button for an online purchase. Supreme Cour t decision No. 8089/2556 ruled that the defendant’s use of the card and entering the 4-digit personal password to withdraw cash was regarded as entering the defendant’s e-signature. Therefore, such acts could be used as evidence for loan transactions.
Creating a valid e-signature under the law A valid e-signature must comply with the methods required under the ETA. For general e-signatures, the method used must be capable of identifying the signatory and the
