From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 10:26:17 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Senator Lott on Encryption
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19971024015535.00b87684@pop.pipeline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Excerpt below of statement on encryption policy by Senate Majority 
Leader Lott published in the October 21 Congressional Record.
Full statement at: 

     http://jya.com/lott-crypto.htm  (12K)

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Senator Lott:

  During the past month, the FBI has attempted to change the debate by 
proposing a series of new mandatory controls on the domestic sale and 
use of encryption products. Let me be clear. There are currently no 
restrictions on the rights of Americans to use encryption to protect 
their personal financial or medical records or their private e-mail 
messages. There have never been domestic limitations, and similarly, 
American businesses have always been free to buy and use the strongest 
possible encryption to protect sensitive information from being stolen 
or changed. But now, the FBI proposes to change all that.

  The FBI wants to require that any company that produces or offers 
encryption security products or services guarantee immediate access to 
plain text information without the knowledge of the user. Their 
proposal would subject software companies and telecommunications 
providers to prison sentences for failure to guarantee immediate access 
to all information on the desktop computers of all Americans. That 
would move us into an entirely new world of surveillance, a very 
intrusive surveillance, where every communication by every individual 
can be accessed by the FBI.

  Where is probable cause? Why has the FBI assumed that all Americans 
are going to be involved in criminal activities? Where is the 
Constitution?

  And how would this proposal possibly help the FBI? According to a 
forthcoming book by the M.I.T. Press, of the tens of thousands of cases 
handled annually by the FBI, only a handful have involved encryption of 
any type, and even fewer involved encryption of computer data. Let's 
face it--despite the movies, the FBI solves its cases with good old-
fashioned police work, questioning potential witnesses, gathering 
material evidence, and using electronic bugging or putting microphones 
on informants. Restricting encryption technology in the U.S. would not 
be very helpful to the FBI.

  The FBI proposal won't work. I have talked with experts in the world 
of software and cryptography, who have explained that the technology 
which would provide compliance with the FBI standard simply does not 
exist. The FBI proposal would force a large unfunded mandate on our 
high technology firms, at a time when there is no practical way to 
accomplish that mandate.

  Rather than solve problems in our export policy, this FBI proposal 
would create a whole new body of law and regulations restricting our 
domestic market.

  This and similar proposals would also have a serious impact on our 
foreign market. Overseas businesses and governments believe that the 
U.S. might use its keys to computer encryption systems to spy on their 
businesses and politicians. Most U.S. software and hardware 
manufacturers believe this is bad for business and that nobody will 
trust the security of U.S. encryption products if this current policy 
continues. In fact, this proposal appears to violate the European 
Union's data-privacy laws, and the European Commission is expected to 
reject it this week.

  So, the FBI proposal would: Invade our privacy; be of minimal use to 
the FBI; would require nonexistent technology; would create new 
administrative burdens; and would seriously damage our foreign markets.

  This is quite a list.

  Mr. President, the FBI proposal is simply wrong. I have learned that 
even the administration does not support this new FBI proposal. So why 
does the FBI believe it must now subject all Americans to more and more 
surveillance?

  This independent action by the FBI has created confusion and mixed 
signals which are troublesome for the Senate as it works on this 
legislation. Perhaps the FBI and the Justice Department need to focus 
immediately on a coordinated encryption position.

  Mr. President, I congratulate the members of the House Commerce 
Committee for rejecting this FBI approach by a vote margin of more than 
2 to 1.

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