§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to issue a public consultation document on the Government's proposals on the provision of public encryption services. [21461]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorI am pleased to announce that, further to my reply to the hon. Member for Worcester (Mr. Luff) on 10 June 1996,Official Report, columns 13–14, I am today publishing a consultation paper outlining the Government's detailed policy proposals for the licensing of trusted third parties (TTPs) for the provision of encryption services. The proposals involve licensing TTPs who offer encryption services to the public in order to facilitate the development of electronic commerce; to protect consumers; and to preserve the ability of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight serious 634W crime and terrorism, and protect economic well-being and national security, by requiring disclosure of encryption keys under safeguards similar to those which already exist for warranted interception.
This initiative is part of the Government's overall policy on promoting electronic commerce for the benefit of both business and the public. It forms an integral part of the Government's strategy for building the information society in the UK— the information society initiative.
The consultation paper seeks comments from industry and the public on the broad outline of the proposed legislation. Copies are available in the Library of the both Houses. I expect to make a further statement on the future direction of the Government's proposals once the outcome of the consultation exercise is known.