From <http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/8e46a.htm>
Encryption technology: French boost for internet software
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 1997 By Andrew Jack in Paris
France is poised to liberalise regulations on computer encryption technology which could boost its efforts to encourage development of the internet.
The government is shortly to publish an official decree which would for the first time allow easy access to and use of software which encodes sensitive information in order to protect it from unauthorised interception.
The move could prove especially important for companies attempting to sell products and services over the internet, but which have been concerned about their protection of credit card numbers and other financial information provided by their customers.
France remains one of the few western countries to impose such restrictive legislation on encryption, with only certain categories of users currently allowed to use the software.
Other nations which continue to restrict the use of cryptography tightly in order to control the transfer of sensitive information include Iraq, Libya, Singapore and China.
While many more countries - including EU member states and the US - restrict the export of sophisticated encryption technology as a product important to national security, most have more liberal guidelines concerning the circulation and application of software within their own borders.
The new decree in France follows a 1996 telecommunications regulation law, which opened the way to liberalisation of encryption software but which has so far not led to publication of any details of how the measures could be applied.
The latest move comes after Lionel Jospin, the prime minister, made a speech last week highlighting the "delay" in France of uptake of the internet and promising initiatives to give it a higher priority. ---------
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