The State and Telecom Surveillance Policy: The Clipper Chip Initiative

Abstract

United States law enforcement and national security agencies have claimed that the proliferation of strong private-sector encryption is eroding their ability to monitor the electronic communications of terrorists, drug traffickers and the like. In response, the "Clipper Chip" initiative was launched. The aim of the initiative was to guarantee law enforcement access to a set of so-called "spare keys" that could be used to unlock encrypted electronic messages. Efforts were also made to internationalize the Clipper Chip initiative. In the face of intense opposition, the initiative was shelved in 1999. This article delineates and explains the formation and eventual demise of the Clipper Chip initiative. Building on the work of other scholars, the authors utilize theories of state policy making to identify the key determinants that shaped the different moments of the Clipper Chip initiative.