From: Weld Pond <weld@l0pht.com>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Message Hash: f2c0aec849ff92e7a2b08d0f69e6e4d0e5d499c165ee7ea05a0d26917b861e13
Message ID: <Pine.BSD/.3.91.951030203647.3975A-100000@l0pht.com>
Reply To: N/A
UTC Datetime: 1995-10-31 02:33:09 UTC
Raw Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 10:33:09 +0800
From: Weld Pond <weld@l0pht.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 10:33:09 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: S. 1284 To Amend (C) Act
Message-ID: <Pine.BSD/.3.91.951030203647.3975A-100000@l0pht.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
>> S. 1284, s1201: "No person shall import, manufacture or distribute
>> any device, product, or component incorporated into a device or
>> product, or offer or perform any service, the primary purpose or
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>IANAL, but I thought these types of laws were already tested and deemed
>unconstitutional in cases involving video-tape copying boxes, dual
video
>cassette dubbing decks, SCMS 'scrubbers', etc...
I think the large gray area here is the phrase primary purpose. The
primary purpose of a device is in the users mind only. Videotape copying
of noncopyright materials is done on a vast scale now due to home
camcorders. But even if only a few people had camcorders they should be
able to purchase equipment that can be used legally.
Introducing the concept of "primary purpose" makes law abiding citizens
suffer because some people are breaking the law. If an item has any
legal purpose it must be allowed.
This trend to take technology that *can* be used to commit crimes out of
the hands of citizen units is growing. We see it with crypto export
controls and recently with the PA law and Federal law making it a crime to
posess devices and software to reprogram cell phones.
When this doesn't make a dent in the number of these crimes I predict we
will see licensing of technologies such as eeprom programmers, spectrum
analyzers, frequency counters, and yes of course strong crypto.
Weld Pond - weld@l0pht.com - http://www.l0pht.com/~weld
L 0 p h t H e a v y I n d u s t r i e s
Technical archives for the people - Bio/Electro/Crypto/Radio
Return to October 1995
Return to “Weld Pond <weld@l0pht.com>”
1995-10-31 (Tue, 31 Oct 1995 10:33:09 +0800) - Re: S. 1284 To Amend (C) Act - Weld Pond <weld@l0pht.com>