[I'm sending this to the cypherpunks and remailer-operators lists. Replies are directed to c'punks, just to avoid crossposting followups, but I read both lists. -Futplex] Mark writes: [re: a new Pennsylvania law]
More likely the law will be used when a remailer operator wont play ball with the local LEA and surrender any existing logs. Then the LEA can simply throw the operator into a court under this legislation.
If (when?) something serious is perpetrated and planned using a remailer then they will have the motivation to shut them down.
I would very much like to see this law tested. I think it could prove fairly important to attack it with a well-planned, benign test case rather than wait for the next National Liberation spam or a death threat. I don't live in PA, but I would be willing to participate as the defendant in a test case under the right circumstances. Presumably I would open an account with an ISP in Penna., set up a remailer on the account (need to find an ISP that clearly allows that), and have somebody send a message through it. We would need to design a promising test case and find an attorney willing & able to offer pro bono services. Any comments or suggestions, esp. from legal types (who of course are not offering formal legal advice to anyone :) ? Is this realistic ? What would it take to elicit a prosecution for such a test case ? -Futplex <futplex@pseudonym.com>