The US Department of Commerce will delay until mid-January the release of new rules easing the encryption software export ban. The new rules had been expected yesterday, Tuesday, but undersecretary of commerce William Reinsch said the administration needed more time than expected to revise an early draft. That’s no surprise. The draft attracted stinging criticism, much of it from the very vendors and privacy advocates the new rules were intended to placate. Critics protested that the regulations outlined in the draft were too complicated, that they omitted important categories of cryptographic software, and that they just wouldn’t help American companies compete in an increasingly crowded international market for encryption.
Reinsch claims work is under way to address these complaints. In view of these substantial changes, we believe there would be real benefit to another round of review and consultations before we issue the regulation, he said. In responding to specific business cases brought to us by industry, especially in the area of source code and encryption development toolkits, we have gone further in the regulation than we promised in September, and that is another reason for this review. We expect to circulate another draft for comment shortly. Privacy advocates welcomed the sentiment, if not the delay. It’s more important that we get it right than that we get it right now, the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Alan Davidson told Reuters. รก
