From: Voters Telecommunications Watch <shabbir@vtw.org>
Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 08:40:28 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: ALERT: Congress rushing to pass surveillance plan!  Call now! (8/1/96)
Message-ID: <199608012049.QAA13473@panix3.panix.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


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 ____  _____ ____     ___  _     _____ ____ _____ 
|  _ \| ____|  _ \   / _ \| |   | ____|  _ \_   _|  CONGRESS RUSHING TO
| |_) |  _| | | | | | |_| | |   |  _| | |_) || |    ENACT SURVEILLANCE
|  _ <| |___| |_| | |  _  | |___| |___|  _ < | |    LEGISLATION.  CALL
|_| \_\_____|____/  |_| |_|_____|_____|_| \_\|_|    CONGRESS NOW! 8/1/96

		REPOST THIS ALERT WHERE APPROPRIATE
	     DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE AFTER AUGUST 7, 1996
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Table of contents
	Introduction
	What you can do now	
	Background
	Participating organizations
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INTRODUCTION

Late Wednesday, Congress and the Clinton Administration reached a
preliminary agreement on a sweeping new surveillance initiative. The
President and several Congressional leaders are pushing for a vote on the
measure BEFORE CONGRESS RECESSES ON AUGUST 2.

If enacted, parts of the proposal would dramatically impact privacy and
security on the Internet and other advanced communications technologies.

Of particular concern are provisions which:

1. Allows law enforcement to wiretap "suspected terrorists" for up to
   48 hours BEFORE obtaining a court order
2. Provide funding for the Digital Telephony Proposal without any public
   accountability over how the FBI spends the funds

Other provisions are also circulating that would:

3. Threaten to impose new restrictions on encryption technologies
4. Seek to criminalize the distribution of 'bomb-making' information on
   the Internet that is legal in print.

Congress needs to hear from you.  Congress will rush through the passage
of massive new surveillance plans with privacy risks unless you
show them there is support for slow, deliberate, reasoned thought on
the issue.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW

	         CALL KEY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IMMEDIATELY!
	              NO LATER THAN FRIDAY (8/2/96)

Please contact as many elected officials on the list below as you can.
Urge them to "go slow" and carefully consider the impact these
surveillance proposals will have on the privacy and security of
all Internet users.

Tell them while you appreciate their concern about combating terrorism,
the measures being proposed have many potential side effects which must be
carefully considered.

1. Call the key members of Congress below and ask them to "go slow" and
   examine the issues before rushing into changing the delicate balance
   of law enforcement surveillance and the public.

2. If you are at a loss for words, use the following sample communique:

	SAMPLE COMMUNIQUE

	Dear _________,

	Please do not rush the passage of counter terrorism legislation;
	I'm concerned that Congress is rushing without carefully
	considering the implications of privacy.  I'm from <city, state>.

	Thanks, <click>

   You should call the following members of Congress because they
   are steering this legislation and need to hear there is support
   for slow, deliberate, thoughtful consideration of this issue.
   Some of thee members *have publicly expressed reservations* about this
   legislation, and we should support them in their efforts.

Senate members:

      P ST Name and Address           Phone           Fax
      = == ========================   ==============  ==============
      R MS Lott, Trent                1-202-224-6253  1-202-224-2262
      D DE Biden Jr., Joseph R.       1-202-224-5042  1-202-224-0139
      D SD Daschle, Thomas A.         1-202-224-2321  1-202-224-2047
      R UT Hatch, Orrin G.            1-202-224-5251  1-202-224-6331
      R PA Specter, Arlen             1-202-224-4254  1-717-782-4920
      D VT Leahy, Patrick J.          1-202-224-4242  1-202-224-3595

House members:

   Dist ST Name, Address, and Party       Phone            Fax
   ==== == ========================       ==============   ==============
      6 GA Gingrich, Newt (R)             1-202-225-4501   1-202-225-4656
      3 MO Gephardt, Richard A. (D)       1-202-225-2671   1-202-225-7452
      6 IL Hyde, Henry J. (R)             1-202-225-4561   1-202-226-1240
     14 MI Conyers Jr., John (D)          1-202-225-5126   1-202-225-0072

President William Clinton:
	White House Comment Line: 1-202-456-1414

3. If you get a response, take a moment and send mail to vtw@vtw.org
   with "feedback" in the subject line.

	$ Mail vtw@vtw.org
	Subject: my feedback from calling Congress
	They said they're not going to pass most of Clinton's package,
	because it upsets the delicate balance between law enforcement and
	the public. 
	^D
	Mail sent!
	
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BACKGROUND

Among other things, the law enforcement proposals circulating on Capitol
Hill include provisions which:

o WIRETAPPING WITHOUT COURT ORDER ALLOWED FOR 48 HOURS

  Congress and the President have already agreed to provisions which
  would dramatically expand law enforcement surveillance authority. Both
  of these provisions were proposed by the President as part of the 1995
  counter-terrorism legislation, but were dropped from the final bill
  after Republicans and civil liberties advocates objected.

  The current proposal would expand law enforcement surveillance
  authority in two ways:

  - Emergency 48 Hour Wiretap Authority: Current law requires law
    enforcement officials to get the affirmative consent of a judge
    before installing a wiretap.

    The current proposal would expand law enforcement authority to
    wiretap "suspected terrorists" for up to 48 hours before obtaining a
    court order, limiting a critical 4th amendment safeguard.

  - Multi-Point "Roving" Wiretaps: Current law allows law enforcement to
    tap only specific LOCATIONS (i.e., a telephone number). In certain
    very limited circumstances, law enforcement can tap a specific
    INDIVIDUAL if it can be shown to a judge that the suspect is moving
    from place to place with the specific intent of thwarting law
    enforcement.

  The current proposal would expand this so-called "roving" wiretap
  authority by making it much easier for law enforcement to tap specific
  INDIVIDUALS as opposed to specific physical locations.  This change
  would dramatically effect the balance between 4th Amendment privacy
  rights and public safety which has existed for nearly 30 years, and
  should not be enacted without careful consideration of the
  implications.

o FUNDING FOR DIGITAL TELEPHONY WITHOUT PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

  The Administration and Congress are seeking funding to implement the
  Digital Telephony Law in a way which eliminates any opportunity for
  public oversight of law enforcement surveillance ability.

  The controversial law, known officially as the Communications
  Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), granted the FBI new
  authority to influence the design of telecommunications networks.  At
  the same time, the law provided substantial public oversight over the
  FBI's surveillance ability by requiring the FBI to state, on the
  public record, what its surveillance needs are.

  The FBI has faced stiff resistance from civil liberties groups and some
  members of Congress and has not yet been able to obtain funding to
  implement the requirements of the law.

  As part of the current proposal, the FBI is seeking a mechanism which
  will provide funding for CALEA in a way which skirts the public
  oversight provisions of the law.  This is an extremely troubling move
  by law enforcement which, if enacted, would allow law enforcement
  essentially unlimited authority to influence the design of
  telecommunications networks without any accountability.

Other provisions which could show up in legislation in the next 72 hours are:

o BOMB MAKING MATERIAL ON THE INTERNET

  In the wake of the recent public concern about terrorism, Senators
  Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Joseph Biden (D-DE) have renewed their
  efforts to pass legislation to restrict the availability of 'bomb-
  making' information on the Internet.

  The Feinstein/Biden amendment was added to the Senate Defense
  Appropriations bill (S. 1762) in early July, and is not currently part
  of the new law enforcement initiative.  However, the amendment poses a
  serious threat to chill the the free flow of information on the
  Internet.

o THREATEN TO IMPOSE NEW RESTRICTIONS ON ENCRYPTION TECHNOLOGIES:

  While no specific legislation has been proposed, the Clinton
  Administration has circulated an outline to Congress which states:

    "We will seek legislation to strengthen our ability to
    prevent terrorists from coming into the possession of the technology
    to encrypt their communications and data so that they are beyond the
    reach of law enforcement."

  This statement marks the first time that the Administration has
  suggested legislation to restrict encryption.  This is especially
  troubling because it comes at a time of growing Congressional support
  for legislation to promote privacy and security tools for the Net.
  Of even more concern, the Administration is clearly attempting to use
  the recent suspected terrorist incidents to push for a new and more
  restrictive encryption policy.

  If the Administration succeeds in passing new restrictions on
  encryption as part of the new surveillance legislation, the future
  of the Internet as a secure and trusted platform for commerce and
  private communication will be threatened.

Some or all of these provisions may be included in a package voted
on by both houses by August 3rd.  It is not clear what a final bill
will look like, and some of these provisions may not be considered by
Congress until later this summer.

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PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

The following organizations all urge you to take this action to combat the
surveillance initiatives.   Check their pages for more background
information on these issues.

	American Civil Liberties Union (http://www.aclu.org)
	American Communication Association
	Center for Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org)
	Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org)
	EF-Austin (http://www.efa.org)
	Electronic Privacy Information Center (http://www.epic.org)
	Feminists for Free Expression
	National Libertarian Party (http://www.lp.org)
	National Writers Union (http://www.nwu.org/nwu/)
	People For the American Way (http://www.pfaw.org)
	Voters Telecommunications Watch (http://www.vtw.org)
	Wired Ventures Ltd. (http://www.hotwired.com)
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