InfoWorld: Blair backs down on U.K. key-escrow encryption | Linux Today

InfoWorld: Blair backs down on U.K. key-escrow encryption

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
May 28, 1999

“In a major reversal, the U.K. Prime Minister’s office has
decided to drop a proposal that would have required anyone sending
an encrypted message to supply the means to unscramble the message
to a third party or the police.”

“Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a statement Wednesday that
the government and Britain’s IT industry have a joint strategy that
“strikes that balance between protecting society from criminals and
creating the best environment in the world to do e-business.”

“Blair, who has often stated that he wants Britain to lead the
world in electronic commerce, had come under criticism for his
proposal for a key-escrow system to prevent online fraud and allow
police to monitor Internet criminals.”


Complete story
.

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.