Subject: House Members Demand an End to "Key Escrow" and Crypto Export Regs --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS RELEASE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION http://www.eff.org/ 1550 Bryant St., Ste. 725 May 17, 1996 San Francisco CA 94103 USA +1 415 436 9333 (v) * +1 415 436 9993 (f) Contacts: Lori Fena, Executive Dir. * lori@eff.org * +1 415 436 9333 Shari Steele, Counsel (legal queries) * ssteele@eff.org * +1 301 375 8856 John Gilmore, Co-Founder (technical queries) * gnu@eff.org EFF commends a diverse group of twenty-seven U.S. Representatives who on Wednesday signed and sent a letter to President Clinton, urging the Administration to abandon "key escrow" schemes and immediately liberalize export controls on encryption programs and products. (A copy of the letter is appended to this press release.) The old Cold War model of regulating encryption as a "munition" is obsolete in a world where electronic security and privacy affect everyone's daily life. Increased Congressional interest in this issue underscores EFF's position that encryption "key escrow" systems fail to serve the interests of individuals and businesses. Problems with "key escrow" include: * inadequate security from unauthorized eavesdropping on personal & commercial electronic communications; * annual losses of billions of U.S. dollars to industrial espionage and online fraud; * harm to U.S. software providers, who cannot compete in the global market for security products with the insecure "key escrow" offerings the Administration has pushed; and * overly-broad extensions to law enforcement and intelligence surveillance authority, with alarming accountability loopholes EFF believes that the deregulation of encryption is necessary to facilitate private communications as well as the expansion of U.S. commerce to online channels and international markets. Encryption is the envelope for the digital age. Several of the signatories, including Representatives Robert Goodlatte and Anna Eshoo, have either introduced or expressed support for recent House legislation which would ease the current restrictive controls on encryption export, and which takes steps to prevent the creation of a mandatory "key escrow" system (in which all users' private encryption keys are held by third parties for the convenience of government agents.) The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a non-profit civil liberties organization working in the public interest to protect privacy, free expression, and access to public resources and information in new media. Internet Security Day: EFF, CDT and over 25 other organizations will hold a day-long educational event in California's Silicon Valley in July. The "Internet Security Day" will bring together industry leaders, members of Congress, encryption experts and others to discuss the need to reform U.S. encryption policy. Similar events, to be held throughout the U.S. and on the Net, are also being planned. Other sponsors of the event include Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW), Americans for Tax Reform, AT&T, Pacific Telesis, America On-Line, Netscape, the Business Software Alliance, the Software Publishers Association, and several others. The Golden Key Campaign: EFF and other civil liberties groups ask that a key-and-envelope logo be displayed to show support for the essential human right of privacy. This fundamental building block of free society has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the constitutions and laws of many countries, and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. Both the key and the envelope symbolize historic means for communicating privately and protecting personal and commercial information. Today, only encryption tools can provide this privacy in the electronic world. Web Sites for More Information Golden Key Campaign: http://www.eff.org/goldkey.html The US encryption policy debate: http://www.crypto.com http://www.privacy.org/ipc Privacy & encryption--technical & legal issues: http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXT OF LETTER FROM HOUSE MEMBERS TO PRESIDENT CLINTON Congress of the United States Washington, DC 20515 May 15, 1996 The Honorable William J. Clinton The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President: We are writing to ask you not to proceed with your Administration's key escrow encryption policy proposal and instead to immediately liberalize export controls on non-key escrow encryption programs and products. Many of us have sponsored H.R. 3011, the "Security and Freedom Though Encryption (SAFE) Act" which would ensure the continued ability of Americans to use and sell good encryption and would permit the export of generally available software with encryption capabilities and other such software and hardware under license when certain conditions are met. We understand that the Administration has developed a key escrow encryption proposal and is not at this time willing to ease export restrictions on encryption programs and products which are widely available from domestic and foreign companies and the Internet. We share the concerns of a wide range of businesses and privacy interests that a key escrow approach will not adequately address security concerns. The ability of companies and individuals to ensure that the information they send over communications and computer networks is secure is a prerequisite to exploiting the potential of the Global Information Infrastructure. For example, U.S. small businesses are beginning to harness the Internet to enter foreign markets. The Internet in effect lowers the barriers to entry for these companies. But they will not be able to rely on the Internet if their information is not secure. We also have serious concerns about the impact of the Administration's policy on the U.S. economy and job creation. (Indeed, it is our strong belief the U.S. economic interests must be a primary consideration in encryption policy discussions with other countries, the OECD, and in other forums. It is not clear that this has been the case in the discussions held up to this point). A recent report entitled "A Study of the International Market for Computer Software With Encryption" prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Security Agency indicated that U.S. companies will lose market share given the availability of stronger encryption products overseas. The Computer Systems Policy Project estimates that unless the U.S. relaxes out-of-date export controls, the U.S. technology industry will lose $60 billion in revenues and 200,000 jobs by the year 2000. As Congress begins to consider H.R. 3011 we would greatly appreciate knowing whether the Administration plans to publish a final rule implementing a key escrow encryption proposal or, alternatively, will relax export controls on encryption programs and products which do not have a key escrow feature. Sincerely, Tom Campbell Bob Goodlatte Anna Eshoo Eliot Engel Zoe Lofgren Bob Barr Carlos Moorhead Patricia Schroeder Barney Frank Sam Gejdenson Howard Coble Rick Boucher Fred Heineman Sonny Bono Vernon Ehlers Randy Cunningham Charlie Norwood Randy Tate Donald Manzullo Helen Chenoweth Thomas Davis Roscoe Bartlett Sam Farr Ken Calvert Linda Smith Joseph Moakley Lynn Woolsey [end letter] The text of Rep. Goodlatte's press release is available online at: http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/hr_crypto_960515.letter (along with a copy of the letter).