Germany opens doors to encryption

NEWS The German government has ruled that all Net users should be free to use 128bit encryption. A statement issued by the country's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology said it has no plans to limit the free availability of encryption products in Germany. It claimed the use of encryption is vital to the preservation of citizens' privacy, ecommerce and business secrets. But the government said the decision is not intended to undermine the power of police and intelligence agencies. It now plans to monitor Internet activity and present a report within two years to take cyberlaw enforcement policy forward. The German decision follows on the heels of the UK government's launch of the Performance and Innovation Unit, which is tasked with finding a policy that curbs crime without restricting the use of encryption. A spokeswoman for the UK Department of Trade and Industry wouldn't comment on the German move, saying a full policy has yet to be decided on.