Give me your privacy and I will protect you.
The following letter was received anonymously via USPS, postmarked "SUBURBAN MD MSC 206, 19 FEB 94 PM, and printed using an HP DeskJet printer in 12 point courier type. I thought that I would share it with you, not because I agree with it (I don't), but because I thought that it was interesting that it has been the ONLY comment I have received on my paper that expressed disagreement. Note that the entertaining mis-spelling of "imperfect writing" is the original author's, and not mine. For a copy of the paper I refer to, ftp csn.org:\mpj\cryptusa.* or see my posting in alt.privacy and talk.politics.crypto **************************************************************** TO: Michael Paul Johnson Re: Data Encryption Software and Technical Data Controls in the United States of America Read your document. You made very sweeping statements. Obviously, you are not an expert for all the material addressed. Educated people, when not an expert, cite to references for positions articulated in a paper. One example of your imprefect writting style is the "law enforcement" section. You never mentioned or solved the law enforcement community's efforts in detecting the transfer of illegal drugs. Your paper needs a major rewrite. FROM: Not Impressed **************************************************************** I won't waste time on a rebuttal. I just want to say that I consider traffic in harmful drugs to be a major problem. I'm not willing to give up my Constitutional rights in the War on Drugs, but I am glad that there are law enforcement agents who are intelligent enough to be a real threat to criminals without being a threat to the honest citizens that they are hired to protect. In fact, I believe that the vast majority of law enforcement agents fall in this category. Just say "NO!" to harmful drugs, promiscuous sex, the ITAR's restrictions on strong cryptography, and Key Escrow! Write YOUR Congressional Representative NOW and express support for Maria Cantwell's bill to ease restrictions on privacy software!
Michael Johnson writes:
I won't waste time on a rebuttal. I just want to say that I consider traffic in harmful drugs to be a major problem. I'm not willing to give up my Constitutional rights in the War on Drugs, but I am glad that there are law enforcement agents who are intelligent enough to be a real threat to criminals without being a threat to the honest citizens that they are hired to protect. In fact, I believe that the vast majority of law enforcement agents fall in this category.
Just say "NO!" to harmful drugs, promiscuous sex, the ITAR's restrictions on strong cryptography, and Key Escrow! Write YOUR Congressional Representative NOW and express support for Maria Cantwell's bill to ease restrictions on privacy software!
I find it useful to imagine myself carrying the sentence myself for all criminal violations I support (the laws, not the crimes themselves). Thus, I would be willing to carry out harsh sentences, even the death penalty, in certain violent crimes or thefts. Rape, murder, arson, etc. I would not be willing to enforce laws against "promiscuous sex" or "harmful drugs." These may or may not be "unproductive" and even "dangerous" activities, but provided I am not directly affected, it's none of my business. (The issue of drug-related crime is unrelated to the act of taking drugs, per se. The illegality of drugs results in high prices, street crime, impure drugs, accidental overdoses, etc. This was the same situation with Prohibition. Alcohol is indeed harmful, more so than nearly any modern drug, and yet Prohibition was wrong. That it was associated with crime and the rise of the Mob was not a reason to continue it.) "Lost productivity" and/or the "costs of caring with addicts and AIDS victims" are other reasons cited to keep certain behaviors illegal. Well, your productivity, lost or otherwise, does not belong to me. If it did, I would ban television and the excessive use of the Internet. Remember the good old American creed: "That's none of your business." And, "A man's home is his castle." What people do with their lives is not for me to interfere with. The essence of Cypherpunkdom. Sorry for lapsing into a political speech, but I hate it when folks don't think through the implications of what they say. Comparing the need to control "promiscuous sex" and "harmful drugs" to the fight for privacy and strong cryptography is pretty bizarre. I urge you to do some more thinking. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."
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