August 20, 1999

Justice Dept. Proposes Bill to Fight Computer Encryption

By STEVEN LEE MYERS

ASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is proposing legislation that would make it easier for law enforcement agents to thwart computer encryption programs that they believe are being used to cover up crimes, department officials said tonight.

The legislation, which the department has drafted and hopes to submit to Congress soon, would allow investigators to request special permission from judges to enter suspects' homes or offices to search computers for passwords or encryption programs as a prelude to more invasive searches or wiretaps, the officials said.

Justice Department officials and law enforcement agencies have grown increasingly worried about the use of software that encrypts or scrambles computer files, making them unusable gibberish to anyone without a special code.

The push for the legislation was first reported in Friday's issue of The Washington Post and confirmed tonight by department officials.

The full details of the department's legislation remained unclear. But the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the legislation would make it easier for agents investigating crimes to obtain special warrants to find and disable the encryption programs.

The Federal Bureau of of Investigation has long pushed for such authorization, arguing that investigators needed ways to thwart the elaborate efforts by criminals to conceal fraud, drug trafficking, terrorism, distribution of child pornography and other crimes.

The prospect of tougher legislation winning approval on Capitol Hill is uncertain at best. Although law enforcement officials have justified the proposal as a necessary and constitutional step, the idea of giving authorities more power to search computer files and programs has raised alarm among civil liberations and many lawmakers.

Law enforcement agencies can now search computers, but the new legislation essentially would clarify circumstances in which they could crack or disable encryption programs.