[6282] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
White House floats yet another crypto policy
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (rodger@att.net)
Tue Dec 14 22:16:10 1999
From: rodger@att.net
To: cryptography@c2.net
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 03:04:06 +0000
Message-Id: <19991215030259.TVHH22589@webmail.worldnet.att.net>
From:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg899.htm
White House ready to relent on crypto
By Will Rodger, USATODAY.com
Clinton Administration officials said Tuesday they
intend to further relax export controls over Internet
privacy technologies.
The action comes in the wake of protests lodged by
industry and congressional critics alike since the White
House released its last proposal Nov. 19.
Critics complained then that the White House had back-
tracked on a Sept. 16 announcement that seemed to
promise liberalization across the board.
Commerce Undersecretary William Reinsch said Tuesday
that his department is preparing new drafts that should
address the disputed items. "These are drafts that we
intend to share with industry. We’ll be getting those to
them shortly."
Large Internet companies including Cylink Corp., America
Online and RSA Inc. have long pushed for further export
liberalization in order to increase sales abroad.
Liberalization, they argue, will not just increase US
sales, but add greater security to an Internet which is
increasingly subject to attacks by hackers and thieves.
But the FBI and National Security Agency have long
encouraged the restrictions because they fear that
criminals, spies and terrorists use encryption to thwart
their eavesdropping efforts. Those arguments have been
seriously undermined by the rapid growth of overseas
encryption makers, many of which can produce products
equal to the best the US has to offer.
The new proposal would:
--Relax regulations that previously restricted sales to
telecom companies with government investors.
-- Treat online and telephone sales of encryption
software the same as products sold through brick-and-
mortar stores.
-- Let developers of encryption development tools sell
their wares abroad without going through an often-
cumbersome licensing process.......
