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IP: Oxley/Manton defeated 35-16
From: David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 00:46:09 -0400
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 20:33:03 -0400 To: farber () central cis upenn edu From: Jonah Seiger <jseiger () cdt org> Subject: Oxley/Manton defeated 35-16 The House Commerce Committee has approved a modified version of SAFE this evening, rejecting the FBI-backed Oxley-Manton "Big Brother" amendment on a vote of 35-16. The export relief provisions of the original SAFE bill were passed intact. The Committee also approved an amendment offered by Reps. Markey (D-MA) and White (R-WA). The amendment create a National Electronic Technologies Center (NET Center) which would assist law enforcement in research and would provide assistance to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in coping with encryption encountered in the course of investigations. The amendment also would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to conduct a study of the implications of mandatory key recovery, and increases the criminal penalties under SAFE for the use of encryption in the furtherance of a federal felony. The amendment passed 40-11. The Committee then approved SAFE, with the Markey-White amendment, on a vote of 44-6. Today's vote is an important defeat for the FBI and its effort to impose domestic controls on encryption and its attempt to require all Americans to use encryption that guarantees law enforcement "immediate access" to their private online communications. The bill now must be reconciled with versions approved by four other committees before moving to the House floor. Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon (R-NY) has stated that he will not bring SAFE up for consideration unless it contained the Oxley-Manton amendment. As a result, it is unlikely that the bill will be voted on by the House any time soon. More information, along with the text of the amendments, will be posted soon at http://www.cdt.org/crypto. ************************************************************************ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin, ~1784 ************************************************************************
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