[4886] in WWW Security List Archive
Re: Fwd: Britain to ban free use of crypto
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeremey Barrett)
Mon Mar 24 23:26:34 1997
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 17:11:56 -0800
From: Jeremey Barrett <jeremey@veriweb.com>
To: Jacob Rose <jacob@whiteshell.com>
CC: Doug Breault <dbreault@ns.sprintout.com>, www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
Errors-To: owner-www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
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Jacob Rose wrote:
>
> > <USELESS_COMMENTARY>
> > Doesn't it make you feel even BETTER knowing that the British
> > gave up their guns? Losing PGP is going to be the least of
> > their problems... it's sad, people never learn.
> >
> > "Thank God for gun control. Where would the government be without
> > it? Run by the people maybe?"
> > </USELESS_COMMENTARY>
>
> Just what we need, comparison of crypto to munitions. Remember how we
> keep telling Them they're unrelated? There's a reason for that. Guns
> are designed to kill people. Crypto is designed to secret information.
> You can't commit murder with an encryption algorithm. You can
> accidentally do so with a gun.
>
Crypto is certainly totally different from munitions. It is instructive
to look at what happened with gun control however. "Give 'em an inch,
...". Once the government has the power to say what you can do, it
will turn right around and tell you you can't.
You are correct however, crypto is not a munition or weapon and cannot
in any way be used as such. It is important to never allow ourselves
to defend crypto as a "munition". Governments claim jurisdiction over
"munitions". No government has legitimate jurisdiction to govern the use
of crypto at all. It simply shouldn't be an issue.
Currently there are at least two "pro-encryption" bills before
the U.S. Congress. Both of these must be defeated, they are _not_
"pro-encryption". Any law at all which governs the use, export, or
manufacture of crypto is absolutely unacceptable. Compromise is
not acceptable.
Jeremey.
- --
Jeremey Barrett VeriWeb Internet Corp.
Crypto, Ecash, Commerce Systems http://www.veriweb.com/
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