Information Security News: Europe Stalls on Crypto Exports

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36623,00.html

Wired News Report
12:25 p.m. May. 26, 2000 PDT

The European Union has delayed a decision on a plan to end encryption
export regulations.

A formal announcement of the EU's removal of encryption-export
barriers was scheduled for a meeting this week of the European
Ministers of Foreign Affairs. But, citing too many items on the
agenda, the committee postponed a decision until a June 13 meeting.

European officials recently announced that member states had reached a
tentative agreement on encryption regulation.

France and the United Kingdom had long opposed relaxing the rules, but
seemed willing to change their mind. They had argued it could place
near-impenetrable technology into the hands of international
terrorists.

The U.S. also opposed the liberalization.

The delay seems welcome to American encryption software companies that
-- as of January -- were allowed greater freedom to export encryption
technologies, but still remained subject to burdensome licensing
procedures and controversial technical checks by the U.S. government.

Those procedures gave a competitive advantage to European encryption
software providers, which the expected vote would have reinforced.


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