Biden was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and introduced the Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Act in the 90s, requiring carriers of encrypted communications to turn the keys over to law enforcement, according to McCullagh.
Biden's bill spurred Philip Zimmerman to invent the PGP algorithm and publish it for free, McCullagh notes.
The Comprehensive Counter-Terrroism act was defeated, but Biden followed up with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement (ACT), which became law in 1994, says McCullagh.
In his favor, he did speak out against the Communications Decency Act.
