House Panel OKs Lifting Encryption Controls

The House International Relations Committee approved a measure designed to loosen export restrictions on highly coded computer technology. The bill, introduced by Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, was passed on voice vote after debate on a proposed amendment that would have given the Clinton administration final authority to export products it thought could be used to impinge on national security. Encryption allows consumers to send sensitive information over the Internet and through e-mail so that only a select number of people can read it. Goodlatte’s bill is supported by software companies and industry groups that say current export controls limit their international market share. U.S. software companies have already begun to form alliances with firms in other countries to develop and sell higher-grade encryption technology.