Dutch Government Supports Encryption, Opposes Backdoors
Running somewhat against the grain of the current political climate, the Netherlands government has issued a statement strongly supporting encryption (for everyone, not just the government) and against the idea of intelligence/law enforcement backdoors. Patrick Howell O'Neill of the Daily Dot has the details:
The Dutch executive cabinet endorsed “the importance of strong encryption for Internet security to support the protection of privacy for citizens, companies, the government, and the entire Dutch economy,” Ard van der Steur, the Dutch minister of security and justice, wrote in the statement. “Therefore, the government believes that it is currently not desirable to take legal measures against the development, availability and use of encryption within the Netherlands.”
This statement of support contrasts with recent efforts by European countries to institute encryption bans or backdoors. This is also somewhat at odds with recent efforts by this same government to grant greater surveillance and hacking powers to its intelligence/law enforcement agencies.
