Dealing a big blow to the federal government’s efforts to maintain tight controls over encryption technology, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Thursday that computer source code is speech protected by the First Amendment.
Despite national security concerns, the divided court said that cryptographers can post their encryption programs on the Internet without first getting government approval. The ruling makes unconstitutional U.S. Department of Commerce regulations that require encryption software makers to go through a regulation process that ensures their products are “consistent with U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
