Digital signatures a threat to privacy? Privacy from Companies6/5/2000; 7:13:45 AM April 10, 2000: Update: Wesley Felter points out the the article incorrectly states what a digital signiture is. *D'oh* should have noticed that myself. Still, I was too busy being in a holy rage about holding the consumers responsible for all screw-ups... yeah, that's it...

Digital signatures a threat to privacy?: "The problem for anonymous users is the amount of personal information that is encoded with the signature. For example, a site selling beer online may ask for proof of age. Current digital certificates would not provide that information but would identify the user by name or an ID ... [much later]Currently, two congressional bills will put consumers in the hot seat if their digital signature is used improperly. [National Consumer Law Center?s] Saunders said such laws can only hurt consumers and online businesses both."

I used to tell people not to worry about the Internet so much while shopping; I felt safer dealing with reputable on-line retailers then I did dealing with a credit card in the real world; odds are good that no human being has ever seen my credit card number from an online transaction I've performed. That may not be 100% true, but certainly fewer have seen it then if I had made the purchases off-line, where at least one person would have seen it on each transaction.

But... the real source of confidence is the strict laws in place that limit my liability should a screw-up occur. As long as I notify the credit-card company within some time period, I'm only liable for up to $50, be it a $51 purchase or a $51,000 purchase. This is a major reason that credit cards are so accepted, even if many people don't realize those protections are there.

We consumers can not and will not bear the liability for these digital signatures. I will not use one if I am going to be held responsible for misuse. Forget it. I'll simply never get one, since that ought to be a reasonable defense.