[TARGET ACQUIRED] Cryptography in France

At 4:46 PM 11/21/1996, Thomas Hennes wrote:
>I'm not an anarchist, nor am I illuminated. I'm a regular guy with a
>regular job. I'm simply tired of all these self-proclaimed important
>people that live in the fast lane with MY taxes. And crypto would be a
>mean for me to combat them more efficiently and to bring back some of
>that much-needed social equilibrium. And, the hell with it, I want
>GUARANTEED PRIVACY.

Here's our target!  France is the perfect testing ground for a
top-notch cryptoanarchist system.  Lots of computers, lots of smart
users, high taxes, and a police state.

At 8:47 AM -0800 11/21/96, John Anonymous MacDonald wrote:

>Here's our target!  France is the perfect testing ground for a
>top-notch cryptoanarchist system.  Lots of computers, lots of smart
>users, high taxes, and a police state.

Not likely.

I gave a talk a couple of years ago in France (well, Monte Carlo, actually,
but the conference was heavily francocentric), and it was clear to me that
France is in the Dark Ages on these issues.

Sure, they've got "Minitel," an ostensibly ubiquitous network. But Minitel
is actually a primitive, sub-Prodigy-class system, controlled by the
government of France and associated special interests (France Telecom,
etc.).

The number of French persons actively on the Internet is fairly low--ask
yourself how many ".fr" domain names you've seen lately, and when you last
saw one on Cypherpunks? I see many more Finnish and even New Zealand domain
names.

Further, encryption is heavily restricted in France. As one French friend
put it, "You can apply for a license to use crypto--the same way you would
apply for a license to buy your own Exocet missile."

So, France is somewhere near the bottom of my list of fertile grounds for
crypto anarchy.

--Tim May



Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside"
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

Timothy C. May wrote:
> 
> I gave a talk a couple of years ago in France (well, Monte Carlo, actually,
> but the conference was heavily francocentric), and it was clear to me that
> France is in the Dark Ages on these issues.

Not all issues.. France is not in the Dark ages in matters of computer
smarts or network connectivity, but...

> Sure, they've got "Minitel," an ostensibly ubiquitous network. But Minitel
> is actually a primitive, sub-Prodigy-class system, controlled by the
> government of France and associated special interests (France Telecom,
> etc.).

...but yeah, we suffered from the Minitel at the same time that BBSes
were flourishing in the US. Calling the Minitel a sub-Prodigy-class
system is, believe me, an insult to Prodigy. The Minitel transmitted at
75 bps in one direction and 300 bps in the other, and -you had guessed
it- it was only a matter of state-monopoly France Telecom wanting to
make more money whereas they had the technical knowledge to implement a
much better system. The Minitel did nothing but delay the arrival of the
Internet and other PC-based networks, setting networking in France
several years back in terms of technicality and economic opportunity.

> The number of French persons actively on the Internet is fairly low--ask
> yourself how many ".fr" domain names you've seen lately, and when you last
> saw one on Cypherpunks? I see many more Finnish and even New Zealand domain
> names.

Don't let this fool you.. A LOT of net users in France do not have the
dreaded
".fr" domain. There is quite a number of ".com" and ".net" French users
on the Internet. And I am a living example of the fact (this is my real
address up there, not a US-based remailer).

> Further, encryption is heavily restricted in France. As one French friend
> put it, "You can apply for a license to use crypto--the same way you would
> apply for a license to buy your own Exocet missile."

This is sad, because this is true. Which was all the reason why I wrote
the original message in that thread.

> So, France is somewhere near the bottom of my list of fertile grounds for
> crypto anarchy.

Why? It is probably easier to implement crypto anarchy in other, more
fertile grounds, but the question is, is it more _useful_ ?

Thomas Hennes
aie-rd@pobox.oleane.com