Senator John McCain
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510

Dear Senator McCain,

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) is writing to urge the Commerce Committee to support the strongest possible export relief legislation for the encryption products that people need to protect their privacy online. The PROTECT Act, S. 798, takes a step in that direction; however, it does not provide the more comprehensive, immediate relief that individuals need today to get access to the strong encryption they need, and CDT will continue to work with the Congress to pass more comprehensive encryption legislation.

Individuals urgently need strong encryption products to protect their privacy. The Internet is transforming the lives of Americans, making daily communications ­ from buying something online, to registering to vote, to sharing ideas with colleagues overseas ­ easier and more efficient. But people must be able to trust in the security and privacy of their data if we are to realize the Internet's promise to promote economic growth and reinvigorate democracy. Strong encryption is the fundamental tool needed to build this trust and privacy on the Internet.

Current Administration export control regulations harm the privacy of individuals both abroad and at home. They directly limit the availability of encryption for those communicating overseas, and more broadly weaken the security available in the most commonly used products. And proposals from the Administration to promote "key recovery" or "plaintext access" systems would create a vulnerable new backdoor that damages the security of all encryption systems.

CDT believes the PROTECT Act is a first step towards the widespread use and deployment of strong encryption. However, CDT believes more immediate export relief is needed. Individual encryption users need access to strong encryption today. CDT urges the Committee to support more immediate encryption export relief for encryption users.

Sincerely,

Jerry Berman
Executive Director
Center for Democracy and Technology

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