From: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 12:53:11 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Rogue Governments Issuing Policy Tokens
In-Reply-To: <v03007800aeb7b8522b6a@[207.167.93.63]>
Message-ID: <v03007804aeb92046fd09@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 7:33 AM -0800 11/20/96, John Anonymous MacDonald wrote:
>"Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net> writes:
>
>> I mention Libya as an extreme example (the same example cited in the
>> Fiat-Shamir "is-a-person" example of rogue governments issuing passports).
>> The examples above are likely targets for policy card exports, though. The
>> issue is clear: the list of "fully-compliant" nations is short indeed, and
>> few nations are going to accept imports of U.S. technology in which the
>> U.S. government sets the policy on how and where the imports may be used.
>
>Most "dual-use" items are export-restricted to Lybia.  That means US
>businesses will have trouble selling any computers or even things like
>trucks to Lybia.  For crypto tokens not to be available there does not
>seem to be a huge deal, in comparison with everything else.

As I said in another message, and as others have commented, the specifics
of Libya are not the point. The point I was making--and I cited other
countries besides Libya--remains that any U.S. policy regarding sales to
other countries, with U.S. policies built in, must comprehend the reality
that these government will use policy tokens to their advantage, and that
many uses may not appeal to us.

The "rogue government" problem is discussed in crypto circles...one of my
main points is that the U.S. Administration has consistently failed to
address questions along these lines.

--Tim May



"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."