From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 02:29:40 +0800
To: "Brian B. Riley" <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net>
Subject: Re: Encouraging News - France
Message-ID: <v03102801b030b79f7be2@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




I should've added to my last post that not only am I skeptical that
citizens in France will be able to use truly strong, unbreakable crypto,
but that the "encouraging news" is quite likely just the opposite.

No solution which involves key escrow or "mandatory voluntary" key recovery
is "encouraging."

The French do not have a solid basis for protection of free speech, as the
United States (mostly) does. We Americans can point to the First Amendment
and pretty much nuke any proposals to place prior restraint on the forms or
content of speech, including the languages we speak to each other in,
whether Navaho, Urdu, or PGP.

This is why so many of us are opposed to SAFE, which for the sake of eased
export requirements would infringe on domestic use of crypto. (By
felonizing crypto use in conjunction with a crime, and that crime could be
any one of thousands of crimes on the books.)

So, I doubt strongly the news out of France is "encouraging." Rather, I
expect France is about to fall into line with the OECD agreements on
escrowed encryption.

As so many Cypherpunks apparently like to say, "Feh."

--Tim May

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
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: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."