House IRC vote on SAFE bill today (CNET coverage)

   Crypto export fight to resume
   By Reuters
   July 21, 1997, 11:35 a.m. PT
   
   WASHINGTON--The battle in Congress over export limits on encryption
   technology will heat up again with a House International Relations
   Committee vote on a bill to dramatically relax the current
   restrictions.
   
   The legislation, already approved by the House Judiciary Committee,
   would allow U.S. companies to export powerful encryption programs. The
   International Relations Committee plans to hold a vote tomorrow on the
   bill, authored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) and called the
   Security and Freedom through Encryption Act.
   
   The Clinton administration favors strict controls on encryption
   exports unless the programs allow the government to crack the codes by
   gaining access to the software keys. But many lawmakers oppose the
   limits, which they say hurt U.S. firms while allowing foreign
   companies to gain market share.
   
   The Goodlatte bill has over 190 cosponsors, including a majority of
   members of the committee. But committee chairman Rep. Benjamin Gilman
   (R-New York), is strongly opposed and may try to amend the bill to
   retain most export controls, congressional staffers said.
   
   The substitute amendment could be modeled on encryption export
   provisions in a broader bill in the Senate backed by Sens. John McCain
   (R-Arizona) and Bob Kerrey (D-Nebraska), staffers said. That bill was
   approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last month, but a bill more
   similar to Goodlatte's is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
   
   The McCain-Kerrey bill would allow free export of medium-strength
   encryption, with keys up to 56 bits long, and establish a board to
   consider raising the limit in the future. But the president would have
   the authority to overrule the board's decisions for reasons of
   national security.
   
   The vote in the International Relations Committee could be close, some
   lobbyists said. "I think the votes are there to defeat a substitute,
   but it's probably going to be close," said one industry lobbyist who
   asked not to be named.
   
   The Goodlatte bill would also prohibit mandatory key recovery for
   encryption used within the United States and criminalize the use of
   encryption to hide evidence of a crime. But those provisions are
   outside the committee's jurisdiction.
   
   Privacy advocates back the bill, arguing that people need unfettered
   access to strong encryption to protect the privacy of personal data,
   medical records, and electronic communications. The software industry
   is also supporting the legislation.
   
   But FBI director Louis Freeh and other top law enforcement officials
   warn that the proliferation of strong encryption overseas will
   complicate the task of keeping tabs on international criminals and
   terrorists.
   
   Story Copyright © 1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
   
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