From: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 16:05:06 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Why is cryptoanarchy irreversible?
In-Reply-To: <v02140b0eaea81512961e@[192.0.2.1]>
Message-ID: <v03007805aea82999cb21@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 2:38 PM -0800 11/7/96, Peter Hendrickson wrote:

>If you can get a life prison term for your strong crypto you may
>hesitate to use it.  If not, then you may get to be an example
>for everybody else.

Well, this is what in private e-mail to Peter I was referring to when I
said "only a police state" could pull the plug on free speech and strong
crypto once it was ubiquitously deployed.

Throwing people in prison for life for using crypto is something that is
certainly _possible_, though I rather doubt taxpayers will be keen on
paying for this. Simply executing those who use random numbers makes more
sense.

All implausible, of course.

--Tim May

By the way, I've never claimed that I know crypto anarchy is irreversible,
I just think it is. I've presented some plausibility arguments on why I
think this is so, drawing parallels to other developments in history, but
logical proofs and predictions about the future don't usually go together
very well.


"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
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."