India withdraws draft encryption policy following controversy

The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial draft encryption policy, with a minister stating that the document was not the final view of the government.

Under the policy, consumers would have been required to store the plain texts of encrypted information for 90 days from the date of a transaction and provide the text to law enforcement agencies when required under the laws of the country. The government would have also specified the algorithms and the length of the encryption keys used by different categories of people.

The policy was largely seen as meeting the need for access to information by law enforcement agencies, and included similar restrictions on business users as well. It also called for Internet services providers to enter into unspecified agreements with the government.

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