Administration Statement on Commercial Encryption Policy
July 12, 1996
The Clinton Administration is proposing a framework that will encourage
the use of strong encryption in commerce and private communications while
protecting the public safety and national security. It would be developed
by industry and will be available for both domestic and international use.
The framework will permit U.S. industry to take advantage of advances in
technology pioneered in this country, and to compete effectively in the
rapidly changing international marketplace of communications, computer networks,
and software. Retaining U.S. industry's leadership in the global information
technology market is of longstanding importance to the Clinton Administration.
The framework will ensure that everyone who communicates or stores information
electronically can protect his or her privacy from prying eyes and ears
as well as against theft of, or tampering with, their data. The framework
is voluntary; any American will remain free to use any encryption system
domestically.
The framework is based on a global key management infrastructure that supports
digital signatures and confidentiality. Trusted private sector parties
will verify digital signatures and also will hold spare keys to confidential
data. Those keys could be obtained only by persons or entities that have
lost the key to their own encrypted data, or by law enforcement officials
acting under proper authority. It represents a flexible approach to expanding
the use of strong encryption in the private sector.
This framework will encourage commerce both here and abroad. It is similar
to the approach other countries are taking, and will permit nations to establish
an internationally interoperable key management infrastructure with rules
for access appropriate to each country's needs and consistent with law enforcement
agreements. Administration officials are currently working with other nations
to develop the framework for that infrastructure.
In the expectation of industry action to develop this framework internationally,
and recognizing that this development will take time, the Administration
intends to take action in the near term to facilitate the transition to
the key management infrastructure.
The measures the Administration is considering include:
- Liberalizing export controls for certain commercial encryption products.
- Developing, in cooperation with industry, performance standards for
key recovery systems and products that will be eligible for general export
licenses, and technical standards for products the government will purchase.
- Launching several key recovery pilot projects in cooperation with industry
and involving international participation.
- Transferring export control jurisdiction over encryption products for
commercial use from the Department of State to the Department of Commerce.
Administration officials continue to discuss the details of these actions
with experts from the communications equipment, computer hardware and software
industries, civil liberties groups and other members of the public, to ensure
that the final proposal balances industry actions towards the proposed framework,
short-term liberalization initiatives, and public safety concerns.
The Administration does not support the bills pending in Congress that would
decontrol the export of commercial encryption products because of their
serious negative impact on national security and law enforcement. Immediate
export decontrol by the U.S. could also adversely affect the security interests
of our trading partners and lead them to control imports of U.S. commercial
encryption products.
A Cabinet Committee continues to address the details of this proposal.
The Committee intends to send detailed recommendations to the President
by early September, including any recommendations for legislation and Executive
Orders. The Committee comprises the Secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce
and Treasury; the Attorney General; the Directors of Central Intelligence
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and senior representatives from
the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget, and
the National Economic Council.
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Posted on July 12, 1996 || Transcribed from hard copy