[2144] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Congress getting involved in crypto this year
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Stewart)
Fri Feb 20 10:00:51 1998
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 22:43:50 -0800
To: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>, cryptography@c2.net
From: Bill Stewart <bill.stewart@pobox.com>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.3.95.980219123903.9768C-100000@well.com>
At 12:40 PM 2/19/98 -0800, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>Anyone want to bet on the possibility of Congress
>doing a "good thing" on crypto? Remember, there's no bill being
>considered in either house of the Congress that does *not* have
>domestic controls on encryption: the crypto-in-a-crime penalties.
...
>Lobbyists are about to find out that the support for crypto freedom in the
>Congress is wide but very, very shallow.
Maybe a 5% chance of a good bill getting to the floor,
and a 5% chance of it getting passed undamaged.
On the bright side, what are the chances of someone releasing
free or commercial code that makes crypto regulations even less
relevant than before? Pretty decent.
Unfortunately, crypto-in-a-crime laws can still be effective,
especially since the typical wording of such things tends to be
broad enough to cover jaywalking while using a digital cellphone.
The ACLU and friends did a good job last year of limiting the
scope to using crypto in commission of federal felonies of which
the defendant was actually convicted; they'll probably need to
do it again this year.
Thanks!
Bill
Bill Stewart, bill.stewart@pobox.com
PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639
