jim bell writes:
It _is_ less voluntary, because it interferes with my right to escrow my key with an organization that is willing to take the dispute to arbitrary levels of uncooperativeness with the government. I might insist, for example, that the organization only store the key outside the country (beyond the reach of US Courts) and require MY PERMISSION for them to release it to the government. I might also insist that they further encode the key so that only an independent foreign organization (out of reach of US courts) could provide the key to decrypt it.
If key escrow is REALLY REALLY REALLY "voluntary", then such arbitrary restrictions should be do-able.
Unless I've missed something large, you can have an _uncertified_ key escrow agent store your keys in Fidel Castro's beard, and only release them with written permission from your goldfish. Whether or not you use a certified key escrow agency would remain your choice, AFAIK. I'm not expressing support for the certification standards that have been presented. But I don't consider it cause for great alarm that the USG wants to play in the escrow agent rating bureau business. -Futplex <futplex@pseudonym.com>