---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 19:06:33 -0600 From: Aaron Weissman <aweissman@mocc.com> To: "'fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu'" <fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu> Subject: Why the White amendment is a good idea -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Today, the House Commerce Committee made an important statement which will have lasting ramifications on the status of personal privacy in our nation for the foreseeable future. I know what you all are thinking -- former White staffer, praising his old boss. In the interests of total disclosure, I did work for Rep. White, and I still think he is an all-around great guy. However, solely on the merits of this amendment, I believe that it deserves the support of the Internet community (whatever *that* is). The NETCenter is a great idea. Very few of us would argue that our society has an interest defining rules and in prosecuting their transgression as crimes. Once we have agreed on that point, the issue changes to a (still very important) discussion on methods. By creating a decryption lab (and funding it with tremendous amounts of money), our society will fulfill the basic obligation to protect against the transgression of our rules. However, despite the worst intentions of some, this laboratory cannot be an indiscriminate tool. The United States Government may be a the ultimate example as an organization possessing "national means," however, it's resources are far from infinite. In addition, such a lab would require our very best and brightest mathematicians. We may be able to afford one of these labs, but more would be a large stretch. Once this NETCenter exists, the demands for it's services will soon outstrip it's resources. In addition, the massive cost involved per use would be large enough to attract public scrutiny. I have no doubt that our government could crack the very largest keys if it were to through billions of dollars at the problem. However, in an age of shrinking budgets and a commitment to a balanced budget, that much money is not spent without considerable oversight. I have no doubt that a considerable portion of the NETCenter's time will be spent in matters of foreign intelligence. (As I said, we cannot afford two massive decryption laboratories -- the NSA will have to give its decryption mandate to this new agency). In sum, this amendment gives us a powerful decryption laboratory with a great deal of sunshine on its use and limited resources on behalf of law enforcement. These factors make the NETCenter a great tool for targeted decryption, but they also guarantee that appropriate judicial supervision is acquired before the NETCenter can be used. In other words, this is a great tool for prosecutors to use *after* they have established probable cause in their most heinous cases, and a strong guarantee that the eyes of the government will not intrude into our persons, papers and effects. The passage of this amendment helps ensure that the terms of this debate remain centered on our civil liberties -- not kiddie porn. If we are going to win this argument (and the stakes are very large) we have to keep this debate framed with our criteria. Many may disagree with me on these points, and I we -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBNCm5F7il6vI+AAoXAQFlIgQAkvC7ABgdpCV0AzTn5eXLW/A4zsXObRIr NpOEVm0SvNsY7VWq3YoPQpetoP5sU/Z2tE4Vepl9jgxFAY3YVv9ZczrbTGdKKO1T Il3s779jI/8fGAUuOaP2B81mowOSO9NsLa462VjyaFkB7kY9gEin3LCT6Gf/cyvk Agp98YVAY4M= =ueWO -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----