THE WHITE HOUSE
 
               Office of the Vice President
 
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- FRIDAY, November 15, 1996
 
 VICE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CRYPTOGRAPHY
 President Signs Executive Order Transferring Jurisdiction of Encryption 
 Technology
 
 WASHINGTON -- Vice President Gore today (11/15) announced that President 
 Clinton has taken two significant actions to implement the encryption 
 export liberalization plan announced in October.
 
 First, President Clinton has signed an executive order directing the 
 transfer of jurisdiction for the export control of commercial encryption 
 products from the State Department to the Commerce Department. Second, 
 President Clinton has designated Ambassador David L. Aaron as Special 
 Envoy for Cryptography.
 
 "We are moving forward to implement the encryption export liberalization 
 plan that I announced in October," said Vice President Gore. "These two 
 actions will help to promote the growth of international electronic 
 commerce and robust secure global communications in a manner that protects 
 the public safety and our national security."
 
 On October 1, 1996, Vice President Gore announced an Administration plan to 
 make it easier for Americans to use stronger encryption products--whether 
 at home or abroad -- to protect their privacy, intellectual property and 
 other valuable information. The plan comprises a comprehensive set of 
 actions to promote the development of key recovery products and an 
 encryption key management infrastructure. Specifically, it allows the 
 export of 56-bit key length encryption products under a general license 
 contingent upon industry commitments to build and market future products 
 that support key recovery. It also called for transferring jurisdiction 
 for controlling the export of commercial encryption technology from the 
 State Department to the Commerce Department.
 
 Key recovery presumes that a trusted party (such as a bank or, in some 
 cases, a party internal to the user's organization) could recover a 
 confidentiality key to the encrypted data for the user or for law 
 enforcement officials acting under proper court authority.
 
 The Executive Order, "Administration of Export Controls on Encryption 
 Products," and a Presidential Memorandum on Encryption Export Policy, 
 signed by President Clinton today, directs the transfer of jurisdiction 
 for the export control of commercial encryption products from the State 
 Department to the Commerce Department. The transfer becomes effective
 upon promulgation of regulations by the Commerce Department, expected
 before the end of the year.
 
 This action subjects licensing application decisions to strict timelines 
 for governmental response, while providing for interagency consultation 
 on those decisions. Under the executive order, concerned agencies will
 have the opportunity to participate in Commerce Department licensing
 decisions. No agency will have a veto over decisions to export encryption
 products. The computer and communications industries have called for the
 jurisdiction transfer, and it was recommended in the recent report of 
 the National Research Council.
 
 Vice President Gore also announced today that President Clinton has 
 designated Ambassador David L. Aaron as Special Envoy for Cryptography, 
 with the responsibility to promote the growth of international
 electronic commerce and robust, secure global communications in a manner 
 that protects the public safety and national security.
 
 Ambassador Aaron will carry out his responsibilities as Special Envoy 
 while retaining his position as the United States Permanent Representative
 to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 
 Paris. As special Envoy, Ambassador Aaron will promote international 
 cooperation, coordinate U.S. contacts with foreign governments on 
 encryption matters and provide a focal point for identifying and resolving 
 bilateral and multilateral encryption issues.
 
 Ambassador Aaron has served in both government and the private sector.
 He has been a member of the boards of several major private sector 
 organizations, and served as Deputy National Security Adviser to
 President Jimmy Carter. He has been the Permanent Representative at 
 the OECD since 1993.