[6287] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Forbes says he'll ditch all crypto export controls
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Declan McCullagh)
Fri Dec 17 17:36:24 1999
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 14:59:07 -0500
To: cryptography@c2.net, cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
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*********
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,33049,00.html
Forbes, the Privacy Candidate=20
by Declan McCullagh (declan@wired.com)
11:40 a.m. 17.Dec.1999 PST=20
WASHINGTON -- If you're the kind of
person who frets about ever-eroding
privacy rights, Steve Forbes wants to be
your president.=20
In the first campaign speech by any
presidential candidate on the topic, the
publishing luminary left nothing to the
imagination: Voracious databases know
more about you than your mother does,
and the Clinton administration is
particularly to blame.=20
"Bit by bit, day by day, we are being
seduced by politicians promising security
as they take away our sovereignty,
promising prosperity as they gnaw away
at our privacy," Forbes told a crowd at
the conservative Free Congress
Foundation on Thursday afternoon.=20
Hearing someone grouse about Bill Clinton
and Al Gore at a Free Congress
Foundation event is about as remarkable
as a Macy's post-holiday sale, but Forbes'
plan to muzzle federal infocrats is one
that even the ACLU can cheer.=20
[...]
Much of Forbes' speech was devoted to
how the executive branch is "engaged in
the greatest assault" on privacy in the
history of the United States, a claim the
Clinton administration dismissed on Friday
as campaign hyperbole.=20
[...]
*********
=93THE FUTURE OF PRIVACY=94
By Steve Forbes
Address at Free Congress Foundation=92s Center for Technology Policy
Washington, D.C.=20
December 16, 1999
INTRODUCTION
Thank you, Lisa [Dean], for that very kind introduction. You=92ve=
been a
great leader in the effort to identify government threats to our privacy
and in
building a broad national coalition to protect our privacy and freedoms and
you
deserve great credit.
And thank you, Paul [Weyrich] for your friendship, your support, and for=
your
very gracious invitation. Each of us in this room owes you a great debt of
honor. You have helped create, shape and build the institutions of modern
conservatism. You have engaged in the noble and enduring effort to rebuild=
the
moral basis of our free society. You have done justice, loved mercy, and
walked
humbly with our God. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.=20
Today, I=92d like to address the =93The Future of Privacy=94 the brazen and=
=20
dangerous assault on the privacy and personal freedoms of the American=
people
by the greedy hand of government. I=92d also like to discuss what the Forbes
Administration will do to restore the privacy of the American people. It=92s=
a
subject getting no attention on the campaign trail. Yet it=92s a subject we=
dare
not ignore, particularly at the dawn of a new century, and a new,=
Information
Age economy. Too much is at stake.=20
ASSAULT ON AMERICANS=92 MEDICAL PRIVACY
In May of 1998, Vice President Al Gore you may have heard of him=85=
he
invented the Internet he gave a commencement address at New York=
University.
He said and I quote =93Privacy is a basic American value, in the
Information Age, and in every age, and it must be protected. You should have
the right to choose whether your personal information is disclosed; you=
should
have the right to know how, when, and how much of that information is being
used; and you should have the right to see it yourself, to know if it=92s
accurate.=94
=93Today,=94 he continued, =93there is greater protection for your=
video
rental receipts than for your most intimate medical information.=94=20
He went on to call on Congress to quote =93enact new legislation=
that
will restrict how your medical records can be used, and make sure you are
fully
informed, and fully consulted, about their use.=94 Unquote.
Sounds fine so far. But then the Vice President said quote =93the
Clinton-Gore Administration wants to work with Congress to pass [medical
privacy] legislation this year=94 and is =93doing everything possible to=
protect
your personal information, and to make it a permanent priority across the
government.=94 Unquote.=20
And that=92s where the trouble began, because, my friends, not a single part=
of
that statement by the Vice President has a single shred of truth in it. =20
The truth is that as we gather here today, the Clinton-Gore Administration=
is
engaged in the greatest assault on the medical privacy of the American=
people
in the history of this country. In the name of protecting our medical=
privacy,
this Administration is actually trying to strip it away.=20
George Orwell once wrote, =93Political language=85is designed to make lies=
sound
truthful=85and murder respectable=85and to give an appearance of solidity to=
pure
wind.=94 The year was 1950=8543 years before Bill Clinton and Al Gore took=
office.
How prophetic. =20
Today, the Clinton-Gore Department of Health and Human Services is
developing a
battery of regulations that would legalize access to your medical records
without your consent. They are in the initial stages of creating a massive,
centralized national health care database, and a national health care ID
system
that would assign a =93unique health identifier=94 to every man, woman and
child in
the United States.=20
This is a legacy of the Clinton-Gore socialized medicine plan from 1993 =
when
President Clinton proposed his infamous =93Health Security Card.=94 This new
system
would electronically tag, track and monitor your personal medical=
information
and make it available without your individual, personal consent and
authorization to other government agencies, public health officials,
researchers, law enforcement officials, courts, lawyers and even employers. =
=20
At the same time, the federal Health Care Financing Administration the
regulatory agency that runs Medicare is creating a separate federal=
database
called OASIS. It=92s requiring nearly 10,000 home health care agencies
nationwide
to transmit sensitive personal medical information on its patients into this
government-run database all without the patients=92 knowledge and consent.=
=20
Such information would include a person=92s medical history, personal
characteristics, race, ethnicity, and living conditions, as well as=
financial
and behavioral characteristics including depression, suicidal tendencies,=
use
of profanity and use of =93sexual references.=94=20
In fact, the questionnaire is so long that if you put all the pages of
questions end to end, the thing is over 30 feet long.
Now, the Administration says it wants to do all this so it can ostensibly
accomplish a number of goals: find ways to cut health care costs, monitor
immunization efforts, track AIDS and cancer patients, standardize medical
records, simplify paperwork procedures, conduct medical research and the=
like.
But the truth is that once again they are trying to create a Soviet-style
health care system. And wherever socialized medicine exists, medical
privacy is
the first casualty. After all, in order for the government to provide=
everyone
with medical care, it first has to have access to all your medical records.
But let=92s be blunt about it: Do you trust Bill Clinton and Al Gore to know
everything there is to know about your medical history? Do you trust the=
same
Administration that was found in possession of more than 900 FBI files on
their
political opponents to create a massive, centralized medical database that
will
contain every intimate detail of your medical history, available to=
thousands
of bureaucrats, political appointees and others at the touch of a button?
How could we ever be sure such sensitive medical information wouldn=92t be=
=20
hacked into or accidentally posted on the Internet to be viewed by anybody=
at
all?=20
Back in February, thousands of patients in the University of Michigan health
system suddenly discovered that for two full months all their personal and
medical information had been posted on the Internet without them knowing=
about
it or giving their consent. University officials immediately took the
information off the Web and said no harm had been done. But according to the
Detroit News, anyone surfing the web would have discovered a quote
=93wealth of
information: enough to steal a person=92s identity or sell medical
information to
companies who use it to decide promotions or whether loans are made.=94
Unquote.=20
Which raises a whole other issue: How could we ever be sure our sensitive
personal medical information in a government-run database wouldn=92t be=
stolen,
leaked, or sold to HMOs, pharmaceutical companies, direct marketing=
companies
and others?=20
One major drug store chain is already involved in a lawsuit over its=
practices
of selling their pharmacy records to direct marketers who take that
information
and try to sell their products to patients. Just imagine what could happen
with
a treasure trove of medical information obtained by the government under the
force of law.=20
The medical privacy of the American people is sacred. The doctor-patient
relationship is sacred and protected by centuries of legal and cultural
tradition. We trust our doctors with our most sensitive, private, personal
information. But we never have and we never should trust big government.=
And
for good reason.=20
Do we really want our doctor to say to us one day, =93If you tell me that=
you=92re
struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, I=92m going to have to report
you to
the feds. If you tell me you=92ve ever been suicidal, I=92m going to have to
report
you to Washington. If you tell me anything about your sexual history or
troubles, I=92m going to have to report you to the Clinton-Gore
Administration=94?=20
Of course not.=20
Government has no need to know our medical history, and it has no right to
know.=20
My friends, make no mistake: this isn=92t about progress; it=92s about power=
raw
government power. It=92s a dagger pointed at the very heart of our privacy=
and
personal freedom and we must stop this power grab before it goes too far. =
=20
Cicero once said, =93There are two kinds of injustice: the first in those=
who do
an injury, the second in those who fail to protect another from injury when
they can.=94=20
This is why I=92m running for President. Because here as with so many other
issues I see injustice being done, and I believe the American people must=
be
protected.=20
I see an Administration engaged in a continuous pattern of lies, deception=
and
deceit. I see an Administration willing to say one thing in public and do=
the
exact opposite under the cover of darkness. I see an Administration that
stands
behind a poll-driven fa=E7ade of feel-good phrases and political
sleight-of-hand,
while Bill Clinton and Al Gore systematically attack the moral basis of our
free society. And this must not stand.
So today, I call upon Congress to stop the Clinton-Gore Administration from
developing this national medical database, and to repeal the legislation=
that
set this process in motion. =20
I call upon Congress to stop this Administration from creating =93unique=
health
identifiers=94 to track the medical history of every man, woman and child in
America.
And I call for immediate public hearings into the unconscionable efforts of
the
Clinton-Gore Administration to violate the medical privacy of the American
people.
This is an Administration that can=92t even protect the privacy of our own=
top
secret nuclear labs. We dare not allow them to violate the privacy of the
doctor-patient relationship. =20
THE EPIDEMIC OF LOST PRIVACY
All of this, however, it is a mere symptom of a larger disease.
Whether
we realize it or not, we are experiencing a sweeping epidemic of lost
privacy.=20
Did you know that private companies will track down and then sell=
your
unlisted phone number to a client for just $49=85your Social Security number
goes
for $45=85.your driving record goes for just $35=85.your cell phone number=
for
$84=85.and companies can now track down the stocks, bonds and securities you=
own
and sell this information to your friends, neighbors, clients, enemies you
name it for just $209.=20
What makes it possible? The explosion of new, Information Age
technology. Technology is making our lives simpler and easier and more
productive in so many ways.=20
But it=92s also creating what some have dubbed the =93Transparent Society.=
=94
Technology is making it increasingly easy for government and private=
companies
to track down and monitor every detail of our personal and financial lives=
=20
what we buy, what we eat, how often we use an ATM, where we live, the names=
of
our children. Sure, in many ways this technology makes it easier to do good=
=20
for law enforcement to track down terrorists and criminals, for example, or
for
us to track down long lost friends and family members. But it also makes it
easier for stalkers, scam artists, child abusers and kidnappers to do evil. =
=20
So, as a free people, we must be vigilant. We don=92t want to live in a=
society
where every innocent American is effectively monitored by a high-tech =93ank=
le
bracelet=94 like a criminal, watching every move we make. We must think=
wisely
about how to protect our privacy in this high-tech era, how to balance our
right to privacy with our passion for free enterprise, as well as with our
government=92s need to protect us and enforce the law. =20
Serious privacy issues have arisen in the private sector, from how marketers
accumulate and disseminate information about interests, tastes and hobbies=
to
how far private detective agencies and Internet search companies should be
allowed to go towards developing a dossier on fellow citizens. And they
deserve
serious attention.=20
That said, let us be clear: the biggest and most serious threat to=
our
privacy comes from a massive federal government seeking information it does
not
need, nor a constitutional right to have.
We are accustomed to enjoying the liberty of going about our daily lives
without telling government what we are doing. The idea of having our own
government monitor our life and activities is anathema to most Americans.=20
Unfortunately, those in power who seek control over how we live our lives=
and
how we spend our money, are using terrorists, criminals, illegal aliens,
welfare cheats, deadbeat dads and students as excuses to impose oppressive
government surveillance over our private lives. It is a typical tactic of
those
attempting to preserve their power to target law-abiding citizens rather=
than
just the law-violators.
Modern technology has made it possible to build a file on every American,=
and
to record and track their daily lives. Computers can now collect and store
immense databases, with detailed records about individual Americans' health
status and treatment, job status and applications, automobiles and driving,
financial transactions, credit,
banking, school and college performance, and travels within and without the
country.=20
In George Orwell's novel 1984, an omnipresent Big Brother watched every
citizen
at home and work from a giant television screen. Databases can now=
accomplish
the same surveillance with a much higher level of efficiency than Orwell=
ever
imagined.
Some of these databases are under the direct control of the federal
government, from the Social Security Administration to the Department of
Education. These databases grant enormous power to whoever controls them. In
government hands, they are the power to control our very lives, our health
care, our access to a job, our financial transactions, and our entry to=
school
and college.
THE IRS VERSUS PRIVACY
Should we be paranoid, looking over our shoulders for those
proverbial
black helicopters? Of course not. But should we be concerned about=
government
overreaching and taking our liberty and privacy bit by bit. Absolutely.=20
Just think about what the IRS knows about you. They have massive computer
databases with reams and reams of personal financial information about you=
and
your family. Yet they have created a culture of corruption and mistrust=
unlike
any other agency of government.=20
In 1995, for example, more than 500 IRS agents were caught illegally=
snooping
through the tax records of thousands of Americans friends, enemies,
neighbors,
celebrities. When the news came to light, people were outraged. And rightly
so.
So the IRS promised to install new and better privacy protections.=20
Did it work? Hardly. In 1997, the IRS discovered that hundreds of employees
had
rifled through the tax records of more than 800 people. So what happened?=
Not
much. The Clinton-Gore IRS fired only 23 IRS staffers =85.349 others were
=93disciplined=94 (whatever that means)=85.and 472 others were required to=
get
=93counseling.=94 =20
Counseling? IRS agents need to get counseling to learn that it=92s not
only
illegal but unethical and immoral to violate a person=92s privacy and read=
their
most personal and confidential tax and financial records? It=92s an outrage=
.
But
that=92s what passes for =93tax reform=94 in Washington these days.
You know we can=92t just tinker with this corruptingly complex tax=
code
monster. We can=92t trim it around the edges. The only thing we can do is=
kill
it, drive a stake through its heart, bury it and hope it never rises again=
to
terrorize the American people!
Then we can end the IRS as we know it. Then we can start the new century
without
100,000 IRS agents and staff an IRS with more manpower than all other=
federal
law enforcement agencies combined. Then we can create an honest, simple new
tax
code and a new culture of tax collection that respects and protects the
privacy and dignity of us all. That=92s the promise of a Forbes
Administration. =20
OTHER THREATS TO PRIVACY
Of course, it=92s not just the IRS. There are so many other areas where
Washington is trying to take away our privacy and freedom. Let me mention=
just
a few others today.=20
Consider the Census process, for example. It=92s become such a natural part=
of
our lives that we hardly even question it. But where in the Constitution do=
we
read about every American being required by law to fill out page after page=
of
personal information about themselves, their homes, their finances and so
forth. What business is it of government to know all this, or require
people to
disclose it? It=92s none of their business. It=92s another violation of our
privacy
and it=92s time for someone to say so.=20
The Constitution says every ten years the federal government needs to
=93enumerate=94 count one by one every man, woman and child in this=
country.
That=92s it. And in a Forbes Administration, that=92s all the information=
we=92re
going to collect. Let the private sector conduct their own polls and=
marketing
surveys. Government should get out of this business immediately.=20
Or consider all the talk in Washington in recent years about creating=
national
ID cards complete with individual photographs, fingerprints, and even retina
scans. Consider all the talk of creating a massive government-run database
identifying and tracking every legal worker in the country. Anyone who=92s i=
n
the
system and has a card could work in the United States. Anyone who isn=92t,
couldn=92t.=20
It=92s ridiculous. Of course we need to protect our borders and deport those=
who
enter this country illegally. But we don=92t throw out the Constitution and
create a Soviet-style police state in the process.
What if someone makes a mistake and types in your name wrong? Or=
accidentally
deletes you from the system? How could you get a job? How could you care for
your family? How could you even correct such a mistake? You think standing=
in
line at the Department of Motor Vehicles is a pain in the neck. Imagine
standing in line behind 150 million workers at some new federal Department=
of
Worker Security. It=92s an incredible invasion of privacy and personal=
freedom
and we must continue to be on guard against it. =20
Or consider some of the nonsense being done in the name of fighting the drug
war. Recently, federal officials were pushing a regulatory proposal called
=93Know Your Customer.=94 It would have, in effect, deputized every bank=
employee
as an agent of the DEA. Let=92s say you tried to make a deposit at your bank
larger than your usual deposits maybe you got a big Christmas bonus or sold
something on e-Bay, whatever the bank employee would be required to alert
federal law enforcement officials. Why? Ostensibly to monitor unusual=
activity
for potential drug running and money laundering operations.=20
It=92s ridiculous. Do we need to stop the scourge of drug use, particularly
among
our kids? Absolutely. Do we need to be vigilant against =93white collar=94=
crime?
Of course we do. But again, we don=92t need to throw out the Constitution=
and
violate everyone=92s privacy in the process.=20
The good news is that both of these efforts national ID cards and the =93Kn=
ow
Your Customer=94 rules have been blocked for now.=20
The bad news is that in Washington, policy garbage never gets incinerated
just
recycled. (We probably have Al Gore to thank for that.) These nutty ideas=
will
be back, guaranteed. The only way to stop them and countless others I=
haven=92t
time to delve into today is to sweep out the =93privacy pirates=94 and=
elect
leaders who appreciate and will protect the privacy and freedom of the
American
people.=20
WHAT THE FORBES ADMINISTRATION WILL DO TO RESTORE PRIVACY
Let me now briefly outline ten strategies the Forbes Administration=
will
pursue to restore the privacy and personal freedom of the American people in
the 21st century.=20
1) The Forbes Administration will require a =93Privacy Impact
Assessment=94 of
every bill before it becomes law. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance,
and it will begin at the top.=20
2) The Forbes Administration will vigorously protect the medical
privacy of
the American people by blocking national health ID cards and shutting down=
any
federal medical database that contains information Washington does not need
and
has no constitutional right to have.=20
3) The Forbes Administration will vigorously protect the personal=
privacy
of the American people by creating a one-page Census form. We will fulfill=
the
constitutional mandate of =93enumeration.=94 We will not amass huge amounts=
of
information on the personal lives of the American people.=20
4) The Forbes Administration will protect the financial privacy of the
American people by ending the IRS as we know it. We will create a simple new
tax code that can be filled out on a postcard or single page. We will create=
a
new culture of tax collection that protects the privacy and dignity of the
American people.=20
5) The Forbes Administration will protect the electronic privacy of the
American people by allowing the development and sale of strong encryption
software for personal and commercial use. Unlike, the current=
Administration,
we will not allow Washington to force encryption makers or users to hand=
over
their =93keys=94 to unlock and read their private communications. We will=
also
encourage the development and widespread use of new software allowing=
Internet
users to block web sites operators from reading, tagging and tracking their
e-mail address just as you can now block your telephone number from Caller=
ID
systems.=20
6) The Forbes Administration will work with state and local officials=
to
stamp out =93identity fraud.=94 This is becoming a very serious issue. Money
magazine reports that some 400,000 Americans each year fall victim to people
stealing their personal identification information and perpetrating crimes=
in
their name.=20
7) The Forbes Administration will block all efforts to create a
national ID
card and a government-run worker database. We will vigorously fight illegal
immigration but we will not create a Big Brother police state in the
process.=20
8) As President, I will appoint Cabinet officials specifically an
Attorney
General and Secretary of Health and Human Services committed to protecting
the
privacy and personal freedom of the American people.
9) As President, I will appoint federal judges and Supreme Court=
Justices
who get it who will strictly interpret the Constitution and strike down=
laws
that overstep the bounds of government, robbing the people of their privacy
and
freedom.=20
10) And as President, I will veto any bill that threatens the privacy=
and
personal freedom of the American people.=20
CONCLUSION
One of Paul Weyrich=92s great themes throughout his career no doubt one of=
his
most enduring legacies is this: for the American Experiment to succeed,=
this
self-governing nation must consist of self-governing people.=20
What Paul fears what I fear is that slowly but surely we as Americans are
forgetting what it means to be free. Bit by bit, day by day, we are being
seduced by politicians promising security as they take away at our
sovereignty=20
promising prosperity as they gnaw away at our privacy.=20
My friends, let me be candid. We must not continue to cede to government=
more
and more control over our lives. We must not sell our sovereignty our
personal
privacy and liberty to the faceless functionaries of government for a bowl=
of
porridge. This may be a Great Temptation in the Age of Government. But let=
us
resist.
For we stand at the dawn of new century, a new millennium. We scan the=
horizon
for new leaders with new ideas big ideas to take money and power and=
control
away from the greedy hand of government and restore it to =93we the people.=
=94 We
are engaged in a great struggle between those who believe our rights come=
from
government and those who believe our rights come from God. Let us not lose
focus. Let us not lose heart.=20
The next election may very well determine the outcome of this struggle for a
generation. Will we be lulled into complacency by a political culture
desperate
to hold onto power, and a media culture dulled to the magic and mystery of
freedom? Or will we seize the moment, reclaim our liberties, and fulfill our
destiny as a free and moral people?
These are the questions. You hold the answers. Our future depends on your
verdict.=20
Thank you all very much, and God bless you. =20
### =20
