Execs Back Clinton Online Plan

By Beth Davis

h ost of industry executives, including IBM chairman Lou Gerstner, gathered at the White House last week to announce their support for the Clinton administration's "Framework for Global Electronic Commerce." The plan calls for making the Internet a global, duty-free zone for the buying and selling of products.

However, the framework doesn't resolve the debate on encryption. Still in effect is a policy announced last year that lets companies export strong encryption software only if they give the government access, with a court order, to encryption keys.

Many industry executives say the policy is still too restrictive. "There's a lot more work to do to flesh this out," Gerstner said of the framework. "When that happens, there will be a great deal more debate."

Back to News in Review

Send Us Your Feedback

Top of the Page