[645] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Netscape cripples French software
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Tom Weinstein)
Tue Apr 29 18:25:42 1997
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 15:17:13 -0700
From: Tom Weinstein <tomw@netscape.com>
To: ben@algroup.co.uk
CC: froomkin@law.miami.edu, cryptography@c2.net, reidenberg@sprynet.com
Ben Laurie wrote:
>
> Tom Weinstein wrote:
>>
>> Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law wrote:
>>>
>>> "Communicator Preview Release 3 Availability in France. In
>>> accordance with French law barring S/MIME encryption, Netscape has
>>> removed Communicator Standard and Professional products from the
>>> French Netscape product download sites. We will be providing
>>> subsequent Public Release versions of the Communicator with S/MIME
>>> encryption disabled on the French download sites."
>>
>> What we're actually doing (starting in PR4) is separating out the
>> export crippling from the executable. There will only be one
>> executable (modulo l10n) and it will be configured by a signed policy
>> file. In France, we'll have a policy file that will turn off all
>> encryption, and only allow signing. In the US and Canada, we'll have
>> one that lets you do everything. Everywhere else we'll have the
>> normal export policy.
>
> Gosh! The export laws allow you to do this?
We're still waiting for our official export license from Commerce, but
we've been told that it's okay.
As I understand it, they only care that someone has to modify your
executable to enable stronger crypto. They don't care if it's disabling
signature checking on policy files, or hacking in new crypto algorithms.
--
You should only break rules of style if you can | Tom Weinstein
coherently explain what you gain by so doing. | tomw@netscape.com
