March 4, 1998--WASHINGTON--FBI demands for domestic controls on encryption technologies threaten the constitutional liberties of the more than 35 million Americans who now use the Internet frequently in their everyday lives, Jerry Berman, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), said today at a press conference introducing Americans for Computer Privacy (ACP), a new broad-based coalition formed to fight encryption controls.

FBI proposals before Congress that make it a crime to use encryption within the United States without back-door Òkey recoveryÓ features would eliminate the individual Internet user's ability to safeguard his or her communications, Berman said. ÒThe great democratic potential of the Internet can only be realized if people trust the privacy and security of the network. Strong, user-controlled encryption is the only way to ensure that trust,Ó he added. "Making everyone aware of that fact is the goal of this new coalition, and CDT is glad to be a part of this effort."

CDT will work with ACP to educate the public to the dangers of encryption controls by ramping up its highly-successful "Adopt Your Legislator" campaign, Berman said. The campaign, which boasts 16,000 members in all 435 congressional districts, was a powerful voice against domestic controls in the last session of Congress.

"Adopt Your Legislator" helps individual Internet users keep track online of the positions their Members of Congress take on online policy issues. Through real-time electronic alerts it updates supporters on the latest news about the fight for privacy online. For more information about the campaign, see: http://www.crypto.com/adopt/.

Educating the online public about the FBI proposals is imperative because the proposals would provide government access to an individual Internet user's decryption keys without his or her knowledge or cooperation, Berman said. Encryption programs developed by U.S. companies and sold outside U.S. borders would also be required to include key-recovery features. Government key recovery sytems have been widely attacked by technical experts and privacy advocates for creating new vulnerabilities and jeopardizing international communications that do not receive the protection of American laws.

ÒCDT looks forward to making common cause with other public interest groups, companies, and organizations to fight government controls on the encryption that people use to protect themselves online," Berman said. "We must ensure that all Americans who depend on the Internet for communicating with their families and businesses have the privacy and security they've come to expect."

The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest organization based in Washington, DC. CDT works to develop and advocate public policies that advance constitutional civil liberties and democratic values in new computer and communications technologies. For more information about CDT's activities, please see our Web site at: http://www.cdt.org/.