Date: Fri, 14 Jul 95 21:28:27 -0400 From: "Brian A. LaMacchia" <bal@martigny.ai.mit.edu> Subject: Re: Anti-Electronic Racketeering Act of 1995 (fwd)
`(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the software at issue used a universal decoding device or program that was provided to the Department of Justice prior to the distribution.'.
This isn't escrowed encryption being allowed here. This is straight giving of keys (or a back door) to the gov't. Even Clipper fails this test.
Why doesn't GAK satisfy this clause?
[...]
I don't see how Clipper fails the 1030A(c) test, except possibly for the fact that the proposed escrow agents were not both within DOJ. I think that's a minor point.
Sorry. That's the minor point I was talking about. For example, one might make an exportable system by doing something really nice for the gov't and giving NSA a back door master key for it to use. That doesn't give it to the DoJ -- and I'm not so sure NSA would admit to the existence of a back door much less release the master key. - Carl