Re: CDT Policy Post 2.27 - No New News on Crypto: Gore Restates

At 10:17 14/07/96 -0700, David Sternlight wrote:
>At 7:05 AM -0700 7/13/96, Deranged Mutant wrote:
>>On 12 Jul 96 at 18:23, Bob Palacios posted:
>>> *  Called for the liberalization of export controls provided computer
>>>    users participate in a "global key management infrastructure"
>>>    designed to make personal encryption keys accessible to law
>>>    enforcement.
>>
>>This is particularly problematic...

>Your best shot would be to make sure the part about the system being
>voluntary was hard-wired into any legislation or rule-making. Unless and
>until ITAR is modified by Congress, the USG has what Mark Twain called "the
>calm confidence of a Christian with four aces" on this matter.

International agreement on this issue won't happen this century.
People don't understand the problem (or why it needs regulation),
are suspicious of the US and its motives -- in any case
international negotiations take forever. As for the "concession"
regarding liberalisation of export controls of crypto -- big
deal. The stuff is available anyway outside the US, so the only
people helped are US industry -- why should the rest of the world care? 

Without international agreement, the whole key escrow idea
doesn't have a leg to stand on, and I doubt US industry will be
willing to wait that long before  they can use strong crypto in
their international products.

Arun Mehta Phone +91-11-6841172, 6849103 amehta@cpsr.org
check out my new page at http://www.cerfnet.com/~amehta/  
The protestors of Tiananmen Square will be back. Next time, 
the battle will be fought in cyberspace, where the students 
have the more powerful tanks...

At 3:26 AM -0700 7/15/96, Arun Mehta wrote:
>At 10:17 14/07/96 -0700, David Sternlight wrote:
>>At 7:05 AM -0700 7/13/96, Deranged Mutant wrote:
>>>On 12 Jul 96 at 18:23, Bob Palacios posted:
>>>> *  Called for the liberalization of export controls provided computer
>>>>    users participate in a "global key management infrastructure"
>>>>    designed to make personal encryption keys accessible to law
>>>>    enforcement.
>>>
>>>This is particularly problematic...
>
>>Your best shot would be to make sure the part about the system being
>>voluntary was hard-wired into any legislation or rule-making. Unless and
>>until ITAR is modified by Congress, the USG has what Mark Twain called "the
>>calm confidence of a Christian with four aces" on this matter.
>
>International agreement on this issue won't happen this century.
>People don't understand the problem (or why it needs regulation),
>are suspicious of the US and its motives -- in any case
>international negotiations take forever.

That's certainly one view. Another is that if you watch the precursors of
legislation, then actions in the Netherlands, the UK, and in the European
Parliament suggest that an independent European escrow initiative might
happen within a year. When it does it will be a trivial matter to harmonize
it with some US offering. The mills in various countries are grinding too
coincidentally for my taste.

Given the glacial pace with which standard integrated crypto has appeared
on the Internet, with Navigator only going to offer the final
link--encrypted e-mail--later this year, the above timing isn't necessarily
one which will be left behind by independent Internet developments. And
given the glacial pace of PGP movement toward integrated internet standard
products, it hasn't a hope of beating the above timing to the punch.

David