Electronic Transactions Act 2008, electronic contract and signature recognition
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 8 May 2008.
A contract terms of service (ToS) rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What it requires
- Where a service's terms condition access to the site on a user's or automated agent's acceptance, expect that acceptance may be found from conduct alone, since Samoan law lets consent to use an electronic record be inferred from a person's conduct rather than requiring a signed or clicked agreement.
- Do not rely on an electronic signature to satisfy a signature requirement unless it identifies the signatory, indicates their approval, is as reliable as the purpose requires, and the recipient consents to receiving it.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Contract terms
Who checks it
Audit expectation
none
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 4(1) provides that nothing in the Act requires a person to use, provide, or accept an electronic record without that person's consent, and section 4(2)(b) provides that consent may be inferred from a person's conduct, so a browsewrap-style acceptance by continued use of a service may satisfy a consent requirement without a signed or clicked agreement.
Section 8 lets an electronic signature satisfy a legal requirement for a signature where it adequately identifies the signatory, indicates approval, is as reliable as appropriate to the purpose, and the recipient consents to receiving it, with reliability presumed where the means of creating the signature is linked to and under the control of the signatory alone and no alteration is detectable after signing.
Section 5 makes the Act binding on the Government, subject to an exception for the Controller and Auditor General. The Act creates no offence and states no penalty for its own breach.
When LexLint raises it
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