On August 27, a federal judge in San Francisco handed down a victory for internet commerce. By finding export restrictions on encryption technology unconstitutional, Marilyn Hall Patel added momentum to the movement to eliminate them altogether. Patel's decision to allow Daniel Bernstein to post an encryption program on the Web is another chapter in the epic struggle between the government and the technology community over export policy. This struggle is being fought not only in the courts but also in Congress, where three reform bills are pending.
Encryption software protects privacy by scrambling information into unreadable text.
Encryption strength is measured in bits and, until recently, these businesses could only export 40-bit software that could be easily broken. Recently the policy has been relaxed to allow export of stronger, 56-bit programs, but even these have been broken in the past. While exports are at issue, the future of internet commerce is at stake. In today's global economy, the internet will only flourish in an environment where communications and transactions are secure. This environment will not exist unless people are free to use the strongest technology to protect their information.