In the second annual survey of encryption policy around the globe, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) finds that most countries in the world today have no controls on the use of cryptography. In the vast majority of countries, cryptography may be freely used, manufactured, and sold without restriction.
There is a movement towards international relaxation of regulations relating to encryption products could with a rejection of mandatory key escrow and recovery policies. The OECD Cryptography Policy Guidelines and the Ministerial Declaration of the European Union argue for the liberalization of controls on cryptography and the development of marked-based, user driven cryptography products and services.
Export controls remain the most powerful obstacle to the free flow of encryption. The revised Wassenaar Arrangement may roll back some of the liberalization sought by the OECD, particularly by restricting the key lengths of encryption that can be exported without approval licenses.
