[11513] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
ALERT! communications & file privacy *IS* a *crucial* FOI issue!!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (PACS-L Moderator)
Wed Jul 30 20:06:57 1997
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 18:33:04 -0500
From: PACS-L Moderator <libpacs@UH.EDU>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
From: Jim Warren <jwarren@well.com>
Subject: ALERT! communications & file privacy *IS* a *crucial* FOI issue!!
Freedom to conduct completely-private personal communications is *crucial*
to freedom-of-information. Especially when what's being communicated
concerns government officials, agencies and others with the operational
capability to snoop'n'peep undetectably (e.g., J. Edgar Hoover look-alikes,
phone phreaks, computer crackers, industrial espionage agents, etc.).
The technology has existed for decades to allow us to protect our private
communications, as presumed-innocent citizens and business people.
But now, as it becomes easier and easier to use, and is often available
without any cost at all, *some* "leaders" in the Clinton administration and
in Congress (notably, Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-NB) are diligently seeking to
prohibit it by law, at federal AND state and local levels. (This
supplements their half-billion-dollar 1994-enacted National Wiretap System.)
At the same time, numerous civil liberties and privacy advocates --
including many members of Congress -- are pushing forward on a bill that
would ALLOW U.S. CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY
OF THEIR/OUR FILES AND COMMUNICATIONS.
And it's *crunch time*!! Speak up now -- while you still dare to do so.
--jim
Jim Warren, activist-in-burnout & Contributing Editor (MicroTimes)
jwarren@well.com; 345 Swett Rd, Woodside CA 94062; 415-851-7075
[My apologies. I started to cut the following ALERT msg down to a smaller
size for those afflicted with attention-deficit, but it's *all* meat!]
>Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 10:13:53 -0400
>From: Jonah Seiger <cdt-editor@cdt.org>
>Reply-To: editor@cdt.org
>Organization: Center for Democracy and Technology
>To: policy-posts@cdt.org
>Subject: ALERT: Show Your Support for Privacy on the Net
>X-Mailing-List: <policy-posts@cdt-list.cdt.org> archive/latest/71
...
>As you are well aware, a battle is raging in Congress over the future of
>privacy and security in the Information Age.
>
>Congress is expected to consider pro-privacy encryption reform legislation
>this fall. The bill is opposed by the Clinton Administration, the FBI, NSA
>and CIA, who want to force all Americans to provide guaranteed law
>enforcement access to their private online communications.
>
>As your Representative heads home for the August Recess, he or she will be
>holding public Town Hall Meetings in your area. Now is a great time to let
>your Member of Congress know that you care about protecting privacy on the
>Net.
>
>Check out the ALERT below or visit http://www.crypto.com/member to find out
>what you can do to help.
>
>The ALERT contains information on how you can learn what your Member of
>Congress thinks about this issue, as well as tips for finding out when and
>where he or she will hold Town Hall meetings in your area. During August,
>take a moment to go to a Town Hall Meeting, call your Representative's
>local office, or write letter to show them that the folks back home care
>about privacy on the Internet.
>
>The campaign is being organized by CDT, the Voters Telecommunications Watch
>(VTW), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), EFF-Austin, Americans for
>Tax Reform (ATR), and Wired Magazine.
>
>We hope you will join us in this unique combination of online and off-line
>organizing showcasing the power of the Internet to encourage citizen
>participation in the democratic process. Together, we can help ensure that
>the right to privacy is protected in the Information Age.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Jonah Seiger, Communications Director
>Center for Democracy and Technology
><jseiger@cdt.org>
>
>
>==============================================================================
> ___ _ _____ ____ _____ _
> / _ \| | | ____| _ \_ _| | Visit Your Member of Congress during the
>| |_| | | | _| | |_) || | | | Month of August - Help Support Privacy
>| _ | |___| |___| _ < | | |_| and Security on the Net!!
>|_| |_|_____|_____|_| \_\|_| (_) Posted July 29, 1997
>
> Please forward where appropriate until September 2, 1997
>
> This alert brought to you by
>The Voters Telecommunications Watch, the Center for Democracy and Technology,
> the Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF-Austin Americans for Tax Reform,
> and Wired Magazine
>_____________________________________________________________________________
>Table of Contents
> What's Happening Right Now
> What You Can Do To Help Privacy And Security On The Internet
> - Meet Your Member of Congress, Tell Them How You Feel
> Background On The Encryption Policy Issue and HR 695, the SAFE bill
> What's At Stake in this debate
> About This Alert
>
>_____________________________________________________________________________
>LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD...
>
>The government is demanding that you provide guaranteed law enforcement
>access to your private online communications and business transactions.
>
>Your Congressman will be heading home for the month of August. Now is a
>great time to let him or her know that privacy on the Internet is important
>to you.
>
>Please read the ALERT below and find out what you can do to help.
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW
>
>The FBI, CIA, NSA and other law enforcement agencies are pressuring
>Congress to pass legislation to force anyone who wants to protect their
>privacy on the Internet to use programs with built in "key recovery"
>features -- virtual back doors which would allow law enforcement (and
>anyone else sophisticated enough to find a weakness) access to your private
>communications.
>
>This effort by the Clinton Administration to force the domestic use of
>government approved "key recovery" encryption represents a very real threat
>to your privacy and security in the Information Age.
>
>Fortunately, a bill known as the "Security and Freedom Through Encryption
>Act" (HR 695) is making its way through the House of Representatives. The
>bill, known as SAFE, would help protect privacy and security on the
>Internet by:
>
>* Prohibiting the government from imposing key recovery or key escrow
> encryption inside the United States or abroad.
>* Allowing Americans the ability to use whatever form of encryption they
> choose.
>* Encouraging the widespread availability of strong, easy-to-use
> encryption technologies by relaxing cold war-era export restrictions.
>
>SAFE enjoys support from a bi-partisan majority of 250 Members of the House
>of Representatives, and has been endorsed by civil liberties and public
>interest groups from both sides of the political spectrum, as well as a
>broad cross section of the computer and communications industries.
>
>The SAFE bill has recently cleared two key House committees and is expected
>to be voted on by the full House of Representatives in September.
>
>As your Representatives in Congress head home for the August recess, now is
>a great time to let them know that the folks back home care about
>protecting privacy on the Internet.
>
>Please read the instructions below to find out what you can do to
>participate in "Meet Your Member Month," and join the fight to protect your
>right to privacy online.
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
>
>Between August 1 and September 2, Congress will be in recess and your
>Congressman will be in your area meeting with constituents at large town
>hall meetings and individual appointments. These meetings are a great
>opportunity to show them that the folks back home care about
>privacy on the Internet.
>
>If you can't make a meeting, consider sending a letter or making a phone
>call to your Congressman's home office. Whatever you can do to show your
>support for privacy and security on the Net will make a big difference when
>the issue is voted on by the full house in September.
>
>Instructions:
>
>1. Visit http://www.crypto.com/member/
>
> Simply enter your Zip Code to:
>
> * Find the name and contact information for your Representative
> * Sign up to join the Adopt Your Legislator Campaign;
> * Learn about your Congressman's voting record and positions on
> the encryption issue;
> * Tips on how to set up a meeting and contacting your Congressman;
> * Links to background information on the SAFE bill, and more.
>
>2. Forward this ALERT to your fiends and colleagues. Urge them to join
> Adopt Your Legislator campaign at http://www.crypto.com/adopt/
>
>Two years ago, the Internet user community responded in overwhelming
>numbers to the threat of censorship and joined together to defeat the
>Communications Decency Act. The ongoing debate over US encryption policy
>reform is no less important, and will determine the future of privacy and
>security in the Information Age.
>
>Now is the time to join the fight, before its too late.
>________________________________________________________________________
>BACKGROUND ON THE ENCRYPTION POLICY ISSUE
>
>Complete background information, including:
>
>* A down-to-earth explanation of why this debate is important to
> Internet users
>* Analysis and background on the issue
>* An analysis of the Risks of Key-Recovery by leading cryptographers
>* Text of the Administration draft legislation
>* Text of Congressional bills to reform US encryption policy, includig SAFE
>* Audio transcripts and written testimony from recent Congressional
> Hearings on encryption policy reform
>* And more!
>
>Are all available at http://www.crypto.com/
>________________________________________________________________________
>WHAT'S AT STAKE
>
>Encryption technologies are the locks and keys of the Information age,
>enabling individuals and businesses to protect sensitive information
>as it is transmitted over the Internet. As more and more individuals
>and businesses come online, the need for strong, reliable, easy-to-use
>encryption technologies has become a critical issue to the health and
>viability of the Net.
>
>Current US encryption policy, which limits the strength of encryption
>products US companies can sell abroad, also limits the availability of
>strong, easy-to-use encryption technologies in the United States. US
>hardware and software manufacturers who wish to sell their products on
>the global market must either conform to US encryption export limits or
>produce two separate versions of the same product, a costly and
>complicated alternative.
>
>The export controls, which the NSA and FBI argue help to keep strong
>encryption out of the hands of foreign adversaries, are having the
>opposite effect. Strong encryption is available abroad, but because of
>the export limits and the confusion created by nearly four years of
>debate over US encryption policy, strong, easy-to-use privacy and
>security technologies are not widely available off the shelf or "on the
>net" here in the US.
>
>A recently discovered flaw in the security of the new digital telephone
>network exposed the worst aspects of the Administration's encryption
>policy. Because the designers needed to be able to export their
>products, the system's security was "dumbed down". Researchers
>subsequently discovered that it is quite easy to break the security of the
>system and intrude on what should be private conversations.
>
>This incident underscores the larger policy problem: US companies are
>at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace when competing
>against companies that do not have such hindrances. And now, for the first
>time in history, the Clinton Administration and members of the US Senate
>have proposed DOMESTIC RESTRICTIONS on the ability of Americans to protect
>their privacy and security online.
>
>All of us care about our national security, and no one wants to make it
>any easier for criminals and terrorists to commit criminal acts. But we
>must also recognize encryption technologies can aid law enforcement
>and protect national security by limiting the threat of industrial
>espionage and foreign spying, promote electronic commerce and protecting
>privacy.
>
>What's at stake in this debate is nothing less than the future of
>privacy and the fate of the Internet as a secure and trusted medium for
>commerce, education, and political discourse.
>
>For more information on this issue and the various legislative and
>administration proposals to reform US encryption policy, visit
>http://www.crytpo.com/
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>ABOUT THIS ALERT
>
>This message was brought to you by the following Internet advocacy groups
>who have joined togther to educate Congress and the public about the
>importance of encryption policy reform:
>
>* the Center for Democracy and Technology -- http://www.cdt.org/
>* the Voters Telecommunications Watch -- http://www.vtw.org/
>* the Electronic Fronter Foundation -- http://www.eff.org/
>* EFF-Austin -- http://www.eff-austin.org/
>* Americans for Tax Reform -- http://www.atr.org
>* Wired Magazine -- http://www.wired.com/
>
>For more information, visit http://www.crypto.com/about/
>_____________________________________________________________________________
>end alert 07.29.97
>
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