Over strong internal opposition, the Clinton administration Wednesday relaxed rules on the sale of even the most powerful data-scrambling software overseas with virtually no restrictions.
Law-enforcement and defense officials had argued that relaxing rules would allow criminals and terrorists to more easily transmit scrambled electronic messages the government could not decipher. But the technology industry countered that the software already is widely available for anyone with access to the Internet.
“You have to be a fairly stupid criminal not to have encryption now,” said Piper Cole, a vice president at Sun Microsystems Inc. “It’s available . . . for downloading free from Web sites.”
Industry experts said the change by the Bureau of Export Administration at the Commerce Department will encourage more widespread use of data-scrambling products and make them easier to use. Encryption software now can be awkward to use.
Wider use of encryption also could reassure consumers who have been reluctant to purchase products or services over the Internet because of fears about fraud or theft.
