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China, Encryption Policy, and International Influence

Adam Segal
Wednesday, December 14, 2016, 9:00 AM

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It is difficult to disentangle the influence of U.S. encryption policy on the development of Chinese regulations and laws. Independent of what happens in Washington, Beijing has a long history of using encryption policy to foster national and domestic security as well as to promote economic growth and indigenous innovation. Moreover, the Snowden revelations have reenergized Chinese efforts to use cybersecurity regulations as a catalyst for industrial policy, and the desire for access to data, encrypted or not, is likely to intensify under President Xi Jinping’s leadership. The demands made on foreign and domestic technology companies can be expected to increase over the next several years.

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Adam Segal is the Ira A Lipman chair in Emerging Technology and National Security and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations