At 10:24 PM 12/29/96 -0800, sameer wrote: [...]
Stewart Baker has been quoted as saying that banned "easily scanned printed texts" isn't far away. (Rebecca Vesely's Wired News article)
The language of the new regulations supports this view. It seems to me that the USG wanted to ban easily scannable text, but wasn't sure how to best define "easily scannable". This is a property that is difficult to define. Once they come up with a workable definition, expect the regs to be amended.
We are now just one step away from non-GAK crypto being illegal in the US.
As Michael Froomkin has noted, this will require an act of Congress. I expect the administration to send a pro-GAK bill to Congress in 1997. -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred Make your mark in the history of mathematics. Use the spare cycles of your PC/PPC/UNIX box to help find a new prime. http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm