China Says Push for Companies’ Encryption Keys Follows U.S. Lead

China dismissed U.S. President Barack Obama’s concerns that new security laws would require foreign companies to open backdoors to their networks, saying the U.S. and the U.K. have long sought the same access.

“Many Western governments, including the governments of the U.S. and the U.K., have for many years asked technology companies to disclose their encryption keys,” Fu Ying, spokeswoman for China’s National People’s Congress, said Wednesday in Beijing. “This step is aimed at preventing and investigating terrorist activities.”