For Global Electronic Commerce to flourish, consumers, businesses and governments around the world need to know that financial and other sensitive information transmitted electronically is protected. In the still new and developing environment of Global Electronic Commerce, people need to be confident that information sent over open networks and across national borders is safe from breaches of confidentiality, destruction of intellectual property, alteration or outright theft.

Businesses have long protected their communications and documents using a variety of security tools, such as firewalls, secure tokens and private leased lines and networks. Now, with the wide-spread use of and increasing dependence on open networks, businesses, consumers, and governments alike have focused on encryption - a "digital padlock" that encodes electronic information -- as a global solution to safeguard transactions. In fact, there are encryption products available on the world market today that actually make it safer for consumers to provide their credit card numbers online than over the telephone, and that allow businesses to securely transfer sensitive and confidential information.

Clearly, there is no single solution for protecting electronic data. CSPP believes that creating an environment in which Global Electronic Commerce can flourish requires that consumers around the globe have the flexibility to choose from among the wide-range of security solutions developed and available in the U.S. and other countries. However, government concerns have restricted wide-spread availability of strong global security solutions. Some law enforcement agencies fear that they will not be able to protect their citizens from criminal acts if strong encryption is deployed, and consequently have promoted the use of export controls to restrict its availability. In addition, some governments have now begun to consider domestic controls on the manufacture, sale, distribution, and importation of encryption products.

For Global Electronic Commerce to thrive, CSPP believes the following principles must guide legislative and regulatory actions concerning security and encryption worldwide:

1. Consumer Choice: CSPP advocates consumer choice in global security solutions and is dedicated to ensuring that customers who demand stronger security are adequately supported today and in the future.



2. Security Solutions Must be Market-Driven and Industry-Led: Industry is united in the belief that government-mandated controls on encryption will impede the development and growth of Global Electronic Commerce. CSPP will continue its efforts to ensure that domestic encryption remains unrestricted in the U.S.



3. Voluntary Key Recovery: CSPP supports the voluntary development and use of recoverable encryption products with the understanding that interoperability between recoverable and non recoverable products is critical to support customers.