Government commits itself to e-commerce

Three announcements by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms Mary O'Rourke, yesterday underlined the first clear commitment from Government to push Ireland forward into the e-commerce arena.

Two are of particular significance: a framework document for creating a national policy on two elements essential to the growth of e-commerce, cryptography and digital signatures; and the announcement of a heavyweight Telecommunications Advisory Committee studded with international figures from the Internet and telecommunications world.

The third, a planned joint communique on electronic commerce between Ireland and the US due out next week, would constitute a high-profile handshake, likely to have more cosmetic than strategic value.

The EU already has agreed basic principles with the US from which Ireland is unlikely to wander far.

However, Ireland has chosen its own road in regard to the long-awaited encryption framework document, which lays out basic principles for the use of cryptography (software that encodes and decodes data sent over the Internet) and digital signatures or `certificates' (which use encryption to verify the identity of the sender of data or email over the Internet).

"The formulation of the policy framework on cryptography and electronic signatures is designed to give clarity in this area to business and engender public confidence in the use of such technologies," said Minister O'Rourke.

Significantly, the document veers away from strict and controversial US policy, which restricts the use of so-called "strong" encryption. Under current law, US companies have been excluded from selling strong encryption products into the global market, to the advantage of non-US encryption product developers like Baltimore Technologies in Cork.

According to the document, Ireland will allow any form of encryption to be used, imported or exported.

The US also wants to have a technical method of unlocking suspicious messages if sanctioned by a law enforcement agency. This means they want either the software companies who create encryption software, or the users of such software, to be required to hand over, in advance, a software `key' for unlocking messages. US encryption policy has been the source of bitter debate between law enforcement agencies like the FBI and businesses and technology companies which feel such controls restrict e-commerce.

Ireland has chosen instead to require a search warrant to force users to open encrypted messages or turn over their keys, similar to Britain's planned policy on encryption.

Ms O'Rourke also announced the establishment of a Telecommunications Advisory Committee with a number of key US technology figures. In its composition the committee echoes the approach of technology-literate US President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, who regularly draw upon the expertise of top technology chief executives, colloquially known as the Gore-Techs.

The Minister's panel, which will meet over the summer and autumn, is chaired by Mr Brian Thompson, vice-chairman of telecommunications giant Qwest Communications.

Among others, its members include the man often called the "father of the Internet" for his key role in its creation, Mr Vinton Cerf, senior vice-president of MCI; Mr Don Heath, president and chief executive officer of the Internet Society; Mr Dennis Gilhooley, a consultant with satellite entrepreneur Teledesic, part-owned by Mr Bill Gates; and Mr Ray Smith, chairman of Bell Atlantic.