At 7:05 AM -0700 7/13/96, Deranged Mutant wrote:
On 12 Jul 96 at 18:23, Bob Palacios posted:
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CDT POLICY POST Volume 2, Number 27 July 12, 1996 [..]
Today's statement is essentially a re-statement of the Clipper III proposal released in May. Among other things, the Vice President:
* Called for the liberalization of export controls provided computer users participate in a "global key management infrastructure" designed to make personal encryption keys accessible to law enforcement.
This is particularly problematic... if the mainland Chinese gov't requested a key from a N.Amercian or European (or even UN controlled) escrow agency, who is to say it isn't really for political reasons (even though they may claim the persons are drug smugglers)?
Or what if the 'crime' was, say, discussing Mormon beliefs, which is illegal in Singapore (and I think Russia as well)?
Or what if some terrorist was using keys escrowed in a country that sponsered terrorist acts?
Your best shot would be to make sure the part about the system being voluntary was hard-wired into any legislation or rule-making. Unless and until ITAR is modified by Congress, the USG has what Mark Twain called "the calm confidence of a Christian with four aces" on this matter. That is--unless and until Congress acts, the Administration has absolute discretion with respect to the conditions under which they will liberalize the administration of ITAR. David