FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Jennifer Beltz
Thursday, January 13, 2000	(202) 393-2260
CSPP Lauds New Encryption Regulation As Significant Progress For Technology
Washington, DC - The Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP), a coalition of chief executive officers from America's leading information technology companies, welcomed the newly-issued federal encryption regulation as a move that will provide significant relief to U.S. industry.  The new regulation will yield tremendous benefits through expanded e-commerce and strengthened privacy protections, while advancing national security and law enforcement goals.   "This new regulation reflects a bold action, " said Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., Chairman and CEO of IBM Corp.  "We applaud the Administration for recognizing that the widespread deployment of strong encryption will benefit all Americans." Members of CSPP also welcomed the bipartisan efforts of Congress on this issue, which helped pave the way for positive action on the part of the Administration. "When it comes to realizing the full potential of electronic commerce, protecting the privacy of every individual, or guarding our critical infrastructures against cybercrime, strong encryption is an indispensable tool," noted Scott G. McNealy, President and CEO of Sun Microsystems, Inc.  "The new regulation marks substantial progress toward the streamlined controls that will be essential to advancing these universal goals." The new regulation allows the license-free export of any encryption commodity or software of any key length to individuals, commercial firms, and other non-government end users. "Retail" encryption products may also be exported globally without license to all end-users, including governments.  In addition, export controls on source code, toolkits, and chips have been eased.  Under this regulation, the license-free export of strong encryption to Internet and telecommunication service providers, with the exception of government-specific applications and services, will be permitted.  This liberalized treatment will benefit users in all nations other than the seven designated state sponsors of terrorism. While the recent regulation spells good news for technology, CSPP continues to view the U.S. regulatory framework for encryption as too complex, with distinctions that do not always reflect the realities of the marketplace (such as the distinction between "retail" and "nonretail" products).   This is particularly true as strong encryption becomes increasingly available from foreign sources, CSPP members noted.  CSPP urged that the Administration continue to work to simplify and streamline the new regulation in the coming months. "Now that we have built some momentum toward genuine and much-needed reform, we welcome the Administration's commitment to ensure that U.S. exporters will not be left at a disadvantage as Europe moves to decrease export control over strong encryption," said Lawrence A. Weinbach, Chairman and CEO of Unisys Corporation.  "The Administration and Congress must remain vigilant so that this new regulation does not become outdated.  Americans simply cannot afford to be left behind if export control liberalization in Europe and elsewhere threatens to make our U.S. regime a competitive disadvantage to U.S. industry and our customers."