AN OPEN INVITATION TO THE INTERNET COMMUNITY FROM MEMBERS OF THE SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE July 23, 1996 This week, the Senate Commerce Committee will take a historic step forward toward enhancing citizens participation in the democratic process via the Internet. On Thursday July 25 the Committee's hearing on S. 1726, the "Pro-CODE" Act of 1996 will be cybercast live on the Internet. As many of you are well aware, the debate over US encryption policy is of vital importance to the future development of the Internet and the privacy of all Americans. We are writing to invite you to join us in this unique event. And to help the Committee better understand your concerns about privacy and security on the Internet, we are inviting you to submit your thoughts for the hearing record via the World Wide Web and to discuss the issues with us and members of our staff live online during the hearing. Information on how you can join the cybercast, submit your thoughts for the record, and participate in an online discussion with encryption experts, members of the committee, and other concerned individuals are available at: http://www.crypto.com/hearing-cybercast/ Witnesses scheduled to testify at Thursday's hearing include: * Louis Freeh, FBI Director * William Reinsch, Undersecretary, Bureau of Export Administration, Dept. of Commerce * William P. Crowell, Deputy Director, NSA * James Barksdale, CEO Netscape Communications Corporation * Grover Norquist, Director, Americans for Tax Reform * Roel Pieper, Pres/CEO Tandem Computer * Ambassador Michael Skol The Cybercast, which is being coordinated by the Center for Democracy and Technology, Voters Telecommunications Watch, HotWired, DIGEX, and Mike Rawson of Senator Burns' office, has four components. These are: 1. LIVE AUDIO CYBERCAST: The audio portion of the hearing will be cybercast live online in real-time. Anyone with RealAudio installed on their computers (available free at http://www.realaudio.com/) will be able to listen in on the hearing. Audio transcripts will also be archived online at http://www.crypto.com/events/072596/ after the hearing. 2. REAL-TIME PICTURES: Pictures from the hearing will also be uploaded to the World Wide Web in real time throughout the hearing. 3. SIMULTANEOUS ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUM: Netizens can also join a live discussion forum where encryption experts and Commerce Committee staff while they listen to the audio portion of the hearing. This provides an opportunity to discuss the issues raised by the testimony in real time with knowledgeable experts and Congressional staff. Several members of the Commerce Committee may also join the discussion periodically (TBA). 4. TESTIMONY FOR THE RECORD: Netizens can also submit their thoughts on the legislation for the record via the World Wide Web. Details are posted at the http://www.crypto.com/events/072596/. Finally, detailed background information on the encryption debate can be found at the following World Wide Web sites: Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) - http://www.senate.gov/~burns/ Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD) -http://www.senate.gov/~pressler/ Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO) -http://www.senate.gov/~ashcroft/ Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) - http://www.senate.gov/~leahy/ The Encryption Policy Resource Page - http://www.crypto.com/ The Internet Privacy Coalition - http://www.privacy.org/ipc Your thoughts and comments on this issue are extremely helpful to us as we continue to push for passage of legislation to enhance privacy and security on the Internet. We hope you will join us on Thursday for this important experiment in the future of democracy. Sincerely, Sen. Conrad Burns Sen. Larry Pressler Sen. John Ashcroft