DIGITAL PRIVACY AND SECURITY WORKING GROUP -- letter to the President

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

DIGITAL PRIVACY AND SECURITY WORKING GROUP


1001 G Street, NW
Suite 950 East
Washington, DC  20001


Jerry Berman 202/347-5400
Leah Gurowitz 202/393-1010
                                                        December 6, 1993


The President
The White House
Washington, DC  20500


Dear Mr. President:


        On April 16, 1993, you initiated a broad industry/government review
of privacy and cryptography policies at the same time that the
Administration unveiled its Clipper Chip proposal.  The Digital Privacy and
Security Working Group -- a coalition of over 50 communications and
computer companies and associations, and consumer and privacy advocates --
has been working with members of your Administration to develop policies
which will reflect the realities of the digital information age, the need
to provide individuals at work and home with information security and
privacy, and the importance of preserving American competitiveness.


        The Digital Privacy and Security Working Group is committed to the
proposition that computer users worldwide should be able to choose their
encryption programs and products, and that American programs and products
should be allowed to compete in the world marketplace.  In our discussions
with Administration officials, we have expressed the Coalition's tentative
acceptance of the Clipper Chip's encryption scheme (as announced on April
16, 1993), but only if it is available as a voluntary alternative to
widely-available, commercially-accepted, encryption programs and products.


        Thus, we applaud repeated statements by Administration officials
that there is no intent to make the Clipper Chip mandatory.  One key
indication of whether the choice of encryption regimes will be truly
voluntary, however, is the ability of American companies to export computer
programs and products employing other strong encryption algorithms (e.g.
DES and RC2/RC4 at comparable strengths) demanded by customers worldwide.
In this regard, we commend to your attention legislation introduced by Rep.
Maria Cantwell (H.R. 3627) that would liberalize existing export controls
on software with encryption capabilities.  Of course, such legislation
would not be necessary if the Administration acts to accomplish such export
control liberalization on its own.  As part of your on-going encryption
review and decision-making, we strongly urge you to do so.


        As your Administration concludes its review of this issue,
representatives of the Digital Privacy and Security Working Group remain
available to meet with Administration officials at any time.




                              Sincerely,




American Civil Liberties Union         IBM


Apple Computer, Inc.                   Information Industry Association


Business Software Alliance             Information Technology Association of
                                       America
Committee on Communications and
Information Policy, IEEE-USA           Iris Associates, Inc.


Computer and Business Equipment        Lotus Development Corporation
Manufacturers Association
                                       Microsoft Corporation
Crest Industries, Inc.
                                       Oracle Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
                                       Prodigy Services Company
EDUCOM
                                       Software Publishers Association
Electronic Frontier Foundation
                                       Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Electronic Messaging Association
                                       Telecommunications Industry Association
GKI Cryptek Division
                                       Trusted Information Systems
Hewlett-Packard Company








cc:     John Podesta, Office of the President
        George Tenet, National Security Council
        Mike Nelson, Office of Science and Technology Policy
        Ray Kammer, National Institute of Standards and Technology
        Steve Aoki, National Security Council
        Geoff Greiveldinger, Department of Justice