Digital technology makes documents easy to alter or copy, leading to multiple non-identical versions that can be used in unauthorized or illegitimate ways. Unfortunately, the ease of alteration has introduced doubts in users' minds about the authenticity of many of the digital documents they encounter....
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (better known as the Uniform Law Commission) took up the issue of a possible uniform law on the authentication of online legal materials in early 2008. It wasn't easy, but by focusing on an outcomes-based technology neutral approach, the ULC was able to bring the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA) to approval at the ULC annual meeting in July 2011. While not proscribing any particular preservation or authentication method or technology, the law establishes a digital preservation framework for official electronic legal materials moving forward.
