From: Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 17:37:04 +0800
To: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
Subject: Re: Leahy's guillotine.
Message-ID: <199603100911.BAA18260@ix4.ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Leahy et al.:
>  Whoever willfully endeavors by means of encryption to obstruct,
>   impede, or prevent the communication of information in furtherance
>   to a felony which may be prosecuted in a court of the United States,
>   to an investigative or law enforcement officer shall...

<Exonive deleted>!  

Let's look at the word "willfully".  Among other things, it implies
knowledge; under US law, to be guilty you have to know you did something
that you at least reasonably believe is an activity that you're not supposed
to do.
Yes, cops can send you email threatening to use your remailer for
felonious purposes, but if you don't know they've actually done it,
and you haven't agreed with them to provide your encryption services
in support of their felonious action, you're not a willing participant.
Especially if you've got the welcome banner on your remailer page
saying "You may not use this email encryption service for thoughtcrime,
violations of the verbal morality act, idea laundering, anti-abortion activism,
or other felonious or Un-American activities."  You're no more a willful 
participant than the guy who receives an unordered package of child pornography
mailed by a postal inspector.

Now, if they make this a felony, surely conspiracy to participate in
such activities could eventually be made illegal, and if the DemoPublicrats
get re-elected, it probably will be some day.  But this law doesn't do that yet.

#--
#			Thanks;  Bill
# Bill Stewart, stewarts@ix.netcom.com, +1-415-442-2215 pager 408-787-1281
# "At year's end, however, new government limits on Internet access threatened
# to halt the growth of Internet use.  [...] Government control of news media 
# generally continues to depend on self-censorship to regulate political and
# social content, but the authorities also consistently penalize those who
# exceed the permissable."  - US government statement on China...