The Clinton administration gave a hint Tuesday of just what it means when it says it wants dialog on the question of what sort of government access should be built into encrypted data.
The Department of Justice sent Robert S. Litt, principal associate attorney general, before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, federalism, and property. His performance was headlined in some quarters as an announcement: The White House is backing away from an FBI-National Security Agency campaign to set up a mandatory system whereby cops and spies could get quick access to the keys for encrypted data or communications.
Litt was present to testify about the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment issues that might arise from a mandatory key-recovery system. Several times, he told his listeners, including panel chairman John Ashcroft (R-Missouri), that the Clinton administration isn't pressing for any mandatory data recovery regime.
"Although I will discuss ... the constitutionality of a mandatory recovery regime, let me begin by reiterating that no such mandatory regime exists, nor does the administration seek one," Litt said in his prepared remarks. And later: "The administration does not advocate such an approach," and, "it is not the policy of the administration to seek mandatory plaintext recovery legislation ."
As often as he protested that the administration does not seek a mandatory data recovery system - needed, FBI Director Louis Freeh and allies insist, to turn back criminals packing crypto - Litt said the White House does hope for a "voluntary solution" to arise from a new dialog with the software industry and civil libertarians.
"Our goal in this process is to bring the creative genius of America's technology leaders to bear in developing technical, market-savvy solutions that will enable Americans to realize the benefits of strong encryption while continuing to protect public safety and national security," he said.
In sounding that note, Litt played variations on a theme composed and performed many times by him and others in the last year. "Voluntary solution," encouraging industry to create a de facto data-recovery standard, is a key provision of the Secure Public Networks Act the administration crafted and persuaded Senators Bob Kerrey (D-Nebraska) and John McCain (R-Arizona) to sponsor last summer.
In essence, then, Litt was only reiterating the official line from way back (nearly a year ago, he told a House panel that the administration's encryption proposal sought only to preserve "law enforcement's current abilities" to monitor criminals. On Tuesday, he spoke again of the importance of law enforcement maintaining its ability to wiretap encrypted communications - as well as to get at encrypted data stored on computers).
The bottom line, though: Whether it endorses Louis Freeh's demands or not, the White House still wants what the FBI director wants - access to data.
