WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration last week proposed revising its controversial Clipper chip proposal in a way that reduces federal government oversight without compromising law enforcement’s ability to conduct legal wiretaps.
The White House, under the new plan, would relax restrictions on exporting software encryption so long as law enforcement could get the keys to decode it once a court order was obtained.
In April 1993, the administration encouraged federal agencies and businesses to embrace a powerful, government-developed scrambling technology embedded in a computer chip (Clipper chip) that could be decoded only by the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. Civil libertarians and the telecommunications industry criticized the initiative.
The government wants a data encryption standard it can lawfully decode to help combat drug trafficking, domestic terrorism and other crimes.
Former Rep. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., pushed for liberalization of U.S. policy on encryption exports. Vice President Gore has been working with industry to craft a compromise that satisfies private industry and law enforcement. Meetings between government and industry officials will be held next month to advance that goal.
The effort might require legislation to establish criteria for private-sector or government holders of encryption keys and penalties for violation of key holder duties.
