Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 16:47:49 -0400 To: fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu From: Declan McCullagh Subject: Re: CDT Policy Post 3.08 - Senate Committee Approves Key-Recovery Crypto Bill Cc: Bcc: X-Attachments:

At 13:45 -0400 6/19/97, Jonah Seiger wrote:

...

Senator Conrad Burns' (R-MT) effort to block the McCain-Kerrey bill was defeated by a vote of 12 - 8. The 8 Senators who voted with Burns deserve a great deal of credit for standing up for the Net.

Perhaps your definition of "standing up for the Net" is different from mine.

The eight senators who "deserve a great deal of credit" voted for a bill that would have codified into law a 56-bit limit on encryption exports and would have sparked the development of a national key recovery infrastructure.

Burns' ProCODE II "effort" would have permitted only the export of up to 56-bit crypto products without key escrow. Products of any strength *with* key escrow could be exported freely.

ProCODE II would also create an Information Security Board composed of the Commerce Secretary, and representatives of the NSA, CIA, FBI, and White House.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't need my elected representatives "standing up" for me by passing these kinds of bills...

-Declan