[4320] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
http://www.wassenaar.dk/se/
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bluefish [@ home])
Fri Mar 12 12:49:23 1999
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 11:40:32 +0100 (CET)
From: "Bluefish [@ home]" <11a@gmx.net>
Reply-To: "Bluefish [@ home]" <11a@gmx.net>
To: cryptography@c2.net
Cc: eurohack@gizmo.kyrnet.kg, com-priv@lists.psi.com,
cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
I wish to turn your eyes towards
http://www.wassenaar.dk/
http://www.wassenaar.dk/se/
It is a site organizing protests against the bad parts in the Wassenaar
agreement, in Denmark and Sweden. This not only helpless people shouting
in the air, the Swedish counterpart (BitoS) at the site is notorious for
being among the important pressure groups for limiting the effect of
the so called PUL (Personal Information Law) which in conjunction with
other Swedish laws now severly limits the right to free speech on the
Swedish nets.
In sites own words:
"This Wassenaar Protest web-site is established by the Danish Internet
Commerce Association (FDIH). The use of cryptography as a means for
privacy protection on the Internet and for secure ecommerce is by its
very nature an international affair. Thus, the Wassenaar agreement has
implications for all countries. FDIH would like to hear from
organisations or individuals from around the world that are interested
in extending FDIHs initiative to their region or country. Please
contact FDIHs Martin von Haller Groenbaek at mhg@fdih.dk."
The protests ranges from how the laws has been accepted without prior
public debate, on the effect on privacy and busniesses, to demands on how
the goverments should work to have it implemented in the EU is as
none-restrictive way as possible.
As a sidenote, I emailed my opinions and questions long ago to
regering@regeringen.se but it seems the Swedish goverment happily ignores
opinion it dislikes or questions best not answered. The ignorance of the
publics rights and democracy in Sweden from the goverments side is
fearsome. Our "Offenlighets Princip" (Policy to keep as much
none-classified materials official) appears only to be a sick joke.
