The following appeared in today's New York Newsday (2/11/94): ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gov't Backs Away From "Clipper" Chip The Clinton administration yesterday backed away from key elements of its encryption standard in the wake of protests over the use of the so-called Clipper chip. Vice President Al Gore said he wanted the holders of the "keys" that would allow government agencies to eavesdrop on scrambled conversations to include private companies and the court system. The Clipper would be used to scramble conversations over phone lines and computer networks. In declaring it the standard last week, the federal government was ensuring that the Clipper will be built into every phone and computer. But several civil-liberties groups and some companies objected to the fact that the chip has a "back door" that would allow law-enforcement agencies who obtain the proper court warrants to unscramble conversations and eavesdrop. --Joshua Quittner and Stuart Vincenti -------------------------------------------------------------------------