8-18-95. W$Japer: "Encryption-Software Plan Presented Using 'Keys' Held by Escrow Agents." [This is a variation on the Markoff article today, with a bit more.] Companies hoping to start selling stronger encryption products will have to wait a few months, since the administration has yet to sort out important details. For instance, one unresolved issue is how to certify escrow agents to keep fly-by-night operators and organized-crime figures out of the business. And the administration's emerging policy doesn't deal with data-security hardware -- products that wire the encryption schemes right into chips or other devices. Even with the export restrictions, U.S. officials haven't been able to stop widespread international distribution of an encryption program, called Pretty Good Privacy, that is nearly impossible to crack. "Seizure of Electronic Messages In Obscenity Case Raises Questions." Users of a small computer bulletin board in Ohio sued local authorities who seized their electronic mail and other materials as part of an investigation into obscene postings. In their lawsuit, which appears to be the first of its kind, the plaintiffs contend that the Hamilton County Regional Computer Crimes Task Force and other authorities violated their rights to free speech and privacy by seizing their messages during a June raid of five bulletin boards. The plaintiffs also allege that, by seizing their private electronic messages, the authorities violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Double yolk: BUK_guv (about 11kb)