The New York Times, October 11, 1996, p. A38. Clinton's Encryption Plan Fits Law and Market To the Editor: "A Flawed Encryption Policy" (editorial, Oct. 4) mischaracterizes the Clinton Administration's recent proposal on data-scrambling software, the proposal's impact and the results of a study by the National Research Council. This Administration has never proposed that United States citizens be limited in the type of encryption products they choose to use domestically. The current plan relates only to exports of encryption products that are, for all practical purposes, unbreakable in the commercial environment. Unbreakable encryption generates the need for "key" management among personal and business users of encryption products. Users may need a "spare key" to recover information that is lost or otherwise inaccessible, in much the same way that we give a trusted neighbor a spare key to our house. President Clinton's plan insures that the United States -- and not other countries -- will develop such a system, which both protects and is based on the rule of law, not the whim of governments or trade barriers masquerading as import restrictions. You assume that foreign buyers would not buy key-recovery products, but you ignore the trend -- especially in Europe -- to require use of key-recovery products and bar the import of stronger and stronger encryption products that do not take law enforcement into account. The number of companies that have expressed a willingness to work with the Administration to balance commercial and law enforcement issues belies your pronouncement that our proposal is unworkable. In fact, the number of companies that stand ready now to market such products will soon prove that there Is a market for encryption products that provide safeguards for both the owner and for society. The National Research Council did not say that we should allow the export of all encryption. It supported some export controls, while allowing the export of encryption up to the strength of 56 bits. Our plan allows the export of encryption up to 56 bits, but does so in a way that will encourage the production and marketing of products that both protect privacy and prevent crime. The United States is the world leader in information technology. Under the Administration's plan, we will remain so through a market-driven key-recovery system that both promotes the export of encryption products and protects our national security and the public safety. Mickey Kantor U.S. Secretary of Commerce Washington, Oct., 9, 1996