jim bell wrote:
At 02:25 AM 3/3/97 -0800, Tim May wrote:
So, either the reporters here have it wrong, by implying CALEA and the joint U.S.-U.K. agreeement applies to _e-mail_, or in fact CALEA is being seen as applicable to e-mail. If the latter, then things are in much, much worse shape than many of us feared.
If this interpretation is upheld by the courts, we are in a state of war. --Tim May
Indeed, we are. Notice also that there appears to be no illusion that these kind of bills are being done due to public demand: News on this subject is essentially nil, particularly in the mainstream news media.
When one begins adding up all of the ways in which the country is being regulated and legislated 'outside' of the influence of the voters, then it becomes apparent that we acually live in a demon-mockracy. It makes for great news when some 'little guy' manages to 'slip one by' Big Brother, but the reality is that the court system is ruled by money and power. As in the example stated above, much of the legislation proffered by those elected bears little resemblence to issues that are of genuine concern to the electorate. Any issues that the government can't ramrod through using the methods above become matters of 'National Security'. The 'law of the land' then ceases to apply, as 'Emergecy Measures' and secretive regulatory agencies write the law with no voting and a single stroke of the pen. The government even has the power to negate the ability of the individual or group to act in their own interest simply by making laws and regulations vague and/or complicated enough that it is unfeasible to act simply because of the time, energy, and funds required to do so--not to mention the 'risk' involved. Through use of regulatory approval, or witholding of such, the government has the ability to influence the fast-moving course of various areas of technology. Does anyone here want to make large investments in a product that they 'may or may not' be able to sell? This forum has members in all areas of expertise surrounding crypto issues, but can anyone state, unequivocally, all of the finer points surrounding legislation, regulation, etc., in this area? (Even if you think you 'can' legally do this-or-that, are you going to do so if told by the government that you can't and will be subject to prosecution and/or financial loss?) Do you expect for the laws to apply equally to all in areas of major government interest? Some companies are 'approved' for export, while, on very questionable legal basis, others are 'denied' approval. Do you expect this type of gladhanded regulatory approach to be any different for CypherPunks remailers, versus military Onion Routers? When some remailer operator is 'set-up' by the Right Reverend G. Stooge on a pornography bust, or by G.I.Joe on a terrorism bust, do you expect the target to be a CypherPunk or a Vice-Admiral? The fact of the matter is, the government is fully capable of burying the facts on any area of interest they wish, under cover of defending us from the 'bad guys' lurking in the bushes, and once every four years they step into the limelight to decide who gets to spend the next four years passing another mountain of legislation that, inch by inch, eats away at the rights and freedoms that are theoretically guaranteed by the Constitution. One has to wonder just how many times in history a vote in favor of restricting the privacy and rights of citizens was gained by trading off a vote affecting 'hog futures'. -- Toto http://bureau42.base.org/public/xenix/xenbody.html