How does certified email help my company comply with legal regulations?

The benefits of the digital transformation of companies are indisputable in terms of facilitating communications within and across national borders, which is an advantage for competitiveness in a globalized world. But, that increase and diversification can be a problem if regulatory compliance is not ensured.

In this context, certified email has established itself as a tool that provides electronic communications with greater legal security, traceability and evidentiary value, aspects that are increasingly relevant in an ever more demanding regulatory environment.

Unlike ordinary e-mail, certified e-mail incorporates technological mechanisms that allow accreditation of the sending, the content of the communication and the time at which the message was delivered or made available.

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We develop the following points of this topic:

• Why do certified electronic messages help a company to comply with regulations?
• The three main legislative areas where compliance is facilitated by certified e-mails.

To begin with, we remind you what a certified email is and how it is sent.

It is important to note that we are not talking about ordinary e-mails, but those that go through a certification process. The difference is the same, for example, as if you sign a private contract between private individuals without further ado, or resort to the verification of a recognized authority that certifies the authenticity of the entire act, the participants and the content of the same.

Continuing with this assumption, this third party verifier does not have authority for its own sake, but because it is legally recognized to perform this function. This is how we must understand the role of the Qualified Trusted Service Provider in certified electronic delivery, an actor without whom the importance of certified email in compliance with current regulations is not understood.

The legal basis for certified email is framed in European legislation, specifically in the provisions of (EU) 910/2014 eIDA, which regulates trusted electronic services in the European Union.

In the event of litigation, evidence generated during the communication process may be provided as electronic evidence. When the service is provided in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation, especially in the case of qualified electronic certified delivery services, such evidence enjoys a presumption of data integrity and accuracy of date and time.

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However, in addition to this general legal framework in terms of privacy and security, there are other types of sectorial regulations that regulate certain types of business activities. For companies operating in specifically regulated areas, it is essential to ensure compliance with these laws if their certified emails are to have evidentiary validity in legal disputes.

Two aspects related to regulatory compliance in financial matters that can affect a company are those related to security and legal validity. We have already pointed out that both are guaranteed with certified e-mails.

But there is also a specific issue, which refers to the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) and money laundering. Once again, we are moving in the EU environment, one of the most regulated on these matters. The use of certified email can facilitate the traceability and accreditation of certain communications with clients required by financial regulations, reinforcing legal security and documentary evidence in regulated processes.

This is how the financial the financial sector benefits from the use of certified email.

This is an issue that concerns all companies, regardless of their sector of activity, as soon as they have employees. The employment relationship between employees and their company involves much more than the signing of a contract or, where appropriate, dismissal. From personal situations such as a sanction, to unforeseeable events such as the need to resort to an ERE or ERTE, there is a whole range of notifications that must have evidentiary validity in order to be used in ADR or trials.

Certified email is a very efficient way to carry out all these communications. In addition to speeding up and preserving discretion, its guarantee comes from the accreditation of the provider involved:

• Evidence generated by a certified electronic delivery service can be used as electronic evidence in judicial and extrajudicial proceedings, and when the service is qualified, this evidence will also enjoy the presumption of integrity, sending by the sender, receipt by the recipient and the accuracy of the date and time.
• Its validity as legal proof comes from the certifiable events of a certified email: sender, delivery (made available on the destination host) and contents (email/HTML and/or attachment).

Finally, in this section of the labor legislation, it should be noted that communications by certified email can be used as a reliable means of communication, as long as they allow accreditation of the sending, content and receipt or availability of the message, in accordance with the requirements established by labor legislation and judicial practice.

At MailComms Group we are experts in communication solutions with legal value. We have advanced technology in the field and tools as effective as the certified identification systems.