The Electronic Communications Act 2000
Part I of this Act which deals with the cryptography service providers never came into force and has now been repealed (see section 16(4) of the Act which provides for repeal of Part I if no order bringing it into force is made within 5 years of the passing of the Act).
The Act
Section 8 of the Act provides a power to modify legislation to remove restrictions arising from other legislation which prevent the use of electronic communications or storage in place of paper.
The Act increases confidence in electronic transactions by providing legal admissibility for digital signatures.
Records management considerations
Organisations should ensure that electronic information is held and transferred in accordance with the Act and other provisions to ensure that confidential information is accessed only by those with a need to know it in order to carry out their role.