The export of cryptography in the 20th and the 21st centuries

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the evolution of export control in the cryptographic area and considers its impact on the deployment of privacy-protecting technologies within the United States. The shortcomings of the export law in the cryptographic area are typical of the shortcomings of the export laws in general. Cryptography may therefore point the way toward a fairer export-control regime that balances the broad spectrum of interests of the United States rather than focusing on military security, which is not currently a major vulnerability. Such a regime, recognizing the importance of international commerce in the post-Cold War world would shift much of the burden from exporters to the government. Foreign availability tests would be more broadly applied; exporters would be entitled to timely responses; a broader range of export decisions would be appealable to the federal courts; and the effectiveness of export policy would be subject to periodic review.