Japan, Britain to protect encryption keys in trade pact,
Nikkei says
Send a link to a friend
[July 25, 2020] TOKYO
(Reuters) - Japan and Britain have agreed not to force their companies
to disclose algorithms or set up local data servers, as part of talks
aimed at a bilateral trade deal, the Nikkei said on Saturday.
A Japan-Britain agreement on advanced digital standards would pave the
way for creating an international framework to protect intellectual
property and the free flow of data, the business daily reported, without
citing sources.
The two nations hope to clinch a deal before Britain's transition out of
the European Union concludes at the year end, to avoid any gaps in
bilateral trade arrangements.
Under the bilateral deal, the two governments would not force their
companies to hand over encryption keys, which are used to protect
proprietary corporate technology and information, the Nikkei said.
The two nations are expected to agree not to force companies to set up
servers and other related facilities within their borders and to protect
the free flow of data, the report said.
[to top of second column] |
A man poses inside a server room at an IT company in this June 19,
2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/Illustration
A Japanese government official declined to comment, as the talks are ongoing. A
call to the British embassy in Tokyo went unanswered.
Although Britain will be covered by the Japan-EU economic agreement until the
end of the year, Tokyo hopes to complete the bilateral trade deal before that,
as it would need legal checks by the government before being submitted to
parliament, which could meet in coming months, a Japanese negotiator said this
month.
In the trade talks, Tokyo wants to secure at least as favourable automobile
tariffs as it has in its existing EU trade pact, the negotiator told Reuters.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by William Mallard)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |