From: Alan Olsen <root@nwdtc.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 01:29:32 +0800
To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: CNN - Encryption bill expected to pass House - June 23, 1997
Message-ID: <33B003B5.689A@nwdtc.com>
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http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9706/23/encryption.reut/index.html

Encryption bill expected to pass House

June 23, 1997
Web posted at: 10:05 p.m. EDT (0205 GMT) 

WASHINGTON (Reuter) -- Legislation to
relax U.S. export limits on computer-encoding
technology is likely to move ahead in the
House of Representatives this week, despite
a severe setback in the Senate last week. 

The House International Relations' economic
policy and trade subcommittee will vote on a
bill Tuesday, chairwoman Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, Republican of Florida, said. 

Current U.S. law strictly limits export of encryption software, which
scrambles
information and renders it unreadable without a password or software
"key." 

Once the realm of spies and generals, encryption has become a critical
technology to safeguard electronic commerce and global communications
over
the Internet. 

In the Senate last week, a similar bill to relax encryption-export
controls was
torpedoed when the Senate Commerce Committee approved a substitute which
would only modestly ease export restrictions. It effectively would allow
the
government to crack encrypted messages in the United States by gaining
access
to the software keys. 

The Clinton administration has been a strong proponent of so-called
key-recovery mechanisms, arguing that the proliferation of strong
encryption
without key recovery would hamper law-enforcement and national security
agencies' ability to keep tabs on criminals and terrorists. 

The House bill under consideration relaxes export rules without
requiring key
recovery. 

With 125 co-sponsors in the House, and "enthusiastic support" from
industry
and civil liberties and privacy advocates, the bill "is expected to be
passed with
limited changes," Ros-Lehtinen added. 

The bill could face a tougher challenge when considered by the full
International
Relations Committee. Chairman Benjamin Gilman, Republican of New York,
is
not a strong supporter of export liberalization, congressional staffers
said. 

U.S. software companies such as Netscape Communications, and Microsoft
Corp. have been clamoring for relief from encryption export controls. 

Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.