Tim May writes:
The terrible, terrible S.909 McCain-Kerrey bill is probably a negotiating card in the coming Grand Compromise.
Yes. The tactic will be to use S.909 in negotiation to represent a 'fair' government-oriented solution. Then 'compromise' with a 'balanced' deal which includes all that the government really wants, with a few of the more onerous bits taken out of S.909 as 'compromise'. As Declan notes, Congress is driven to compromise. The government side can propose ever more draconian laws in order to engineer the 'compromise' to whatever it wants. On the other side, we are stuck, because we have been asking for things that we really want, not bargaining chips. Even if we were to ask for bargaining chips that are more than we really want, how much further than completely free crypto can you go? The government wins any game of compromise because it can push its side as far as it wants, then demand that we meet halfway.
It will make many groups _satisfied_ to reach "a compromise we can all live with." The various cyber-rights [sic] groups will probably trumpet this as a victory, as "the best we could get."
They will make it out as a victory ("send us more money") but in reality it'll just be a little less of a defeat. The rejectionist stance has the presumption that, if unwatched, the government will pass a law so onerous that the people will rise up in protest. Unfortunately I don't think Americans will rise up in protest over _anything_ any more. Certainly not over basic freedoms. -- Eric Murray ericm@lne.com Network security and encryption consulting. PGP keyid:E03F65E5