From: s1018954@aix2.uottawa.ca
To: Black Unicorn <unicorn@polaris.mindport.net>
Message Hash: 7ca756a71e95bfd60b12d24278cd7b97051409ba3ee3f234fb6774989c82528d
Message ID: <Pine.3.89.9510152224.H11124-0100000@aix2.uottawa.ca>
Reply To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.951015221121.29505A-100000@polaris.mindport.net>
UTC Datetime: 1995-10-16 05:06:02 UTC
Raw Date: Sun, 15 Oct 95 22:06:02 PDT
From: s1018954@aix2.uottawa.ca
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 95 22:06:02 PDT
To: Black Unicorn <unicorn@polaris.mindport.net>
Subject: alt.paranoia.pgp.ban: long rerun (was Re: My chat with...)
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.951015221121.29505A-100000@polaris.mindport.net>
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9510152224.H11124-0100000@aix2.uottawa.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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On Sun, 15 Oct 1995, Black Unicorn wrote:
> in place. Here that piece is, obviously, banning tomorrow's pgp.
Frankly I think that's what it would take for everyone to start using it
(not that I would on this multiuser account, that's what winsock and my pc
are for). Just look at lsd, until it became illegal, only researchers and
psychiatric patients took it. Strange things like crypto really become
popularized (even through notoriety) when they "shouldn't" be had. Also
seems like the only way to get any mainstream press. Bad press is better than
next to none. BBrother schemes like clipper also generate lotsa mainstream
press. I can't wait for Freeh and Clinton to start making sweet
releases about the sequel. Big ones. What's going on on that front anyway?
> > except as PR, why DO they still take this seriously? (unless you want to
> > be paranoid about a ban, hmm, nevermind, debated-to-death)
>
> I'm not so sure it's paranoid. You have trial baloons floating all
> over. Freeh is a prime example, and no one is screaming loudly enough to
> shoot down his blump. That's a big'ole green light for regulators.>
>
Being paranoid is a prerequisite for being on this list in the first
place :-)
But seriously, yes I do agree with you. We know just how much they'd love
to get rid of it. That being said, wasn't legal protection for crypto the
reason EFF caved on the dreaded DT bill? (sorry, DT law. Yech, that's tough)
First they're going to have to get rid of that. How strong is the protection
anyway?
*Begin flogging dead horse* (not a Unicorn)
Flog
Fine, let's just say I don't think I it can stick, we could argue this
back and forth and I'm sure it's been done before. We benefit from any
move towards a ban through a measure of publicity. We benefit once again
from a ban due to programmers like Phil Z. getting terrified and outraged
enough to write code. PGP is the product of a previous attempted ban.
We'd be have PEM or RIPEM otherwise (with no-one using them).
Flog
If there is a market to avoid american anti-privacy and subpeona regs, openly
or in the black, this is where it will get its start. I understand that key
signing parties are all the rage at ietf meetings. I think a lot of those
people would be angry enough to go for a strong privacy IP before any ban
went into effect. Remember the US is not the whole of the world. Go to
Anguila or Vancouver or Montreal or Baja Cali...with those thoughts in your
head, and you can have your cpunk ietf meeting and implement and
distribute the code.
Flog Flog Flog
And then there's the courts...
I think any ban of a "desirable" product is self defeating. Just look at how
little popular and even police support the marijuana ban has. Even Newt
admits to having tried. Unlike crypto, marijuana has a physical presence
and requires transportation, even then it's also totally unenforceable
(even though it lands a very large amount of people in jail). A lot of people
OTOH support the ban on cocaine, yet somehow, supposedly crack only costs
$5/vial in NYC, and is available in every city in the world. A crypto ban
would be even harder than making people pay for all their software.
Pirate software is illegal in most of the world. Are the fine legislators of
North America, where practically all the software is written, totally innocent
of this heinous crime?
It can't stick. Either outcome puts crypto and anonymity ahead in some way.
End of dead horse flogging. Sigh. Sorry for an overlong post.
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