Electronic Communications Act 2000
Encyclopedia
The Electronic Communications Act 2000 (c.7) is an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
that:
The United Kingdom government (with Tony Blair
as prime minister) had come to the conclusion that encryption, encryption services and electronic signatures would be important to e-commerce in the UK.
By 1999, however, only the security services still hankered after key escrow. So a "sunset clause" was put in the bill. The May 2000 Electronic Communications Act gave the Home Office
the power to create a registration regime for encryption services. This was given a five-year period before it would automatically lapse.
The five years expired in May 2005 and the legislation granting such a power disappeared from the statute book.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
that:
- Regulates the provision of cryptographicCryptographyCryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
services in the UK (ss.1-6); and - Confirms the legal status of electronic signatureElectronic signatureAn electronic signature, or e-signature, is any electronic means that indicates either that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message, or more broadly that the person who claims to have written a message is the one who wrote it . By comparison, a signature is a stylized script...
s (ss.7-10).
The United Kingdom government (with Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
as prime minister) had come to the conclusion that encryption, encryption services and electronic signatures would be important to e-commerce in the UK.
By 1999, however, only the security services still hankered after key escrow. So a "sunset clause" was put in the bill. The May 2000 Electronic Communications Act gave the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
the power to create a registration regime for encryption services. This was given a five-year period before it would automatically lapse.
The five years expired in May 2005 and the legislation granting such a power disappeared from the statute book.