The proposed crypto law that the Administration is trying to foist on CONgress includes the following wonderful provision:
TITLE V -- OTHER KEY RECOVERY PROVISIONS SEC. 501. LABELING OF ENCRYPTION PRODUCTS. (A) Any person engaged in manufacturing, importing, packaging, distributing or labeling of encryption products for purposes of sale or distribution in the United States shall package and label them so as to inform the user whether the products use Key Recovery Agents registered under this Act for storage of recovery information, and whether such products are authorized for use in transactions with the United States Government, as specified in regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
Yes, that's right, if you're selling crypto products in the US, if they talk Congress into passing this law, even if you're not participating in the Key Recovery Agent program, you'll be required to label your software to indicate whether or not you are. To simplify this process, I've designed a logo* for non-users of the Key Recovery Agency Program to put on their software. [*Ok, actually I ripped it off from Intel, but the Supreme Court says artistic parodies are legal :-) If a Real Artist wants to improve it, thanks! ] The text of the proposal and the CDT's analysis can be found at: http://www.cdt.org/crypto/admin_397_draft.html nokrap.gif # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk/pub/crypto/pgp # (If this is a mailing list, please Cc: me on replies. Thanks.)
