Question 1

Are electronic signatures legally valid?

Accepted Answer

In most jurisdictions yes, for the great majority of documents — the law generally does not require a handwritten signature, and the practical question is **evidential**: can you prove who signed, that they intended to, and that the document has not changed since.

**What counts as an electronic signature.** Far broader than people assume: a typed name, a scanned image of a signature, a click on "I agree", an email confirmation, and a cryptographic digital signature can all qualify. **What matters is intention to be bound**, expressed by some act connected to the document.

**The tiers used in several legal frameworks:**

**Simple electronic signature** — any electronic form, with the weakest evidential weight.

**Advanced electronic signature** — uniquely linked to the signatory, capable of identifying them, created using means under their sole control, and detecting any subsequent alteration.

**Qualified electronic signature** — an advanced signature with a certificate issued by an accredited provider, which in some legal systems carries the same status as a handwritten signature automatically.

**What actually makes an electronic signature hold up:** evidence of **identity** verification; an **audit trail** showing time, IP address and the sequence of actions; **tamper evidence**, so alteration after signing is detectable; a copy provided to all parties; and clarity that the signatory understood what they were signing.

**Where handwritten or witnessed signatures are still required**, which varies significantly by country: wills and testamentary documents; some property transfers and deeds; certain powers of attorney; some family law documents; and various statutory declarations. **Deeds frequently require witnessing**, and the rules on remote witnessing differ.

**Practical points:** a scanned image of a signature is easily copied and is the weakest common form; use a service that produces a proper audit certificate for anything of value; retain the signed file and the audit record together; and for cross-border agreements, **check both jurisdictions**, since recognition is not automatic everywhere.

**For businesses:** electronic signing is generally faster, cheaper and better evidenced than paper — the main risk is using a weak method for a high-value document.

General information, not legal advice.

Question 2

What is a digital identity wallet?

Accepted Answer

An application holding verifiable credentials — cryptographically signed statements about you issued by a trusted body — that you present selectively, without the verifier needing to contact the

Question 3

What are the risks of scanning a QR code?

Accepted Answer

A QR code is simply an encoded string — most often a URL — and the risk is that you cannot read it before you act on it. That single property is what makes the format attractive to fraudsters. The

Question 4

What is content provenance, and what is C2PA?

Accepted Answer

A way of recording where a piece of media came from and what was done to it, cryptographically attached to the file — an approach to the synthetic media problem that works in the opposite direction

Question 5

What is a cookie banner legally required to do?

Accepted Answer

Obtain valid consent before storing or accessing non-essential information on a device — and most cookie banners do not meet the standard, which is why regulators across Europe have issued repeated

Question 6

How does OCR work?

Accepted Answer

By locating text in an image and then recognising it — two separate problems, and the second is far easier than the first, which is why scanning a clean document works well and photographing a sign

Question 7

Why does my browser say a website is not secure?

Accepted Answer

The warning has two quite different causes, and the distinction matters because one is routine and the other should stop you. The milder case is a site served over plain HTTP with no encryption at

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