WASHINGTON-Two members of the House Judiciary Committee last week re-introduced
legislation to relax export restrictions on encryption products. The bill, known as the Security and Freedom through
Encryption (SAFE) Act, has been strongly opposed by the FBI.
The SAFE Act, introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren
(D-Calif.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), may be the first piece of legislation introduced in the 106th Congress to draw
bipartisan leadership support. Original co-sponsors include Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-Texas), Minority
Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Minority Whip David Bonior (D-Mich.),
House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) and Democratic Caucus Chairman Martin Frost (D-
Texas).
The last Congress’s efforts to pass the SAFE Act got bogged down when five different committees each
reported different versions of the bill. One of those versions would keep in place the current export controls but also
included controls on the domestic sale of encryption products unless the FBI was given immediate access to the
decoded messages.
The companion bill in the Senate, the Promotion of Commerce On-line in the Digital Era (Pro-
CODE) Act, has not been re-introduced in the Senate, but Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the
communications subcommittee, has listed it among his “digital dozen.”
Encryption is often seen as the
centerpiece of the high tech legislative agenda, but other bills have been introduced that will help the high tech
industry, including legislation dealing with the year 2000 conversion problem, privacy information online, Internet
filtering, electronic filing of government documents and banning Internet taxes.
