Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 14:02:05 -0500 To: fight-censorship+@andrew.cmu.edu From: declan@well.com (Declan McCullagh) Subject: Zimmermann's open letter and Congressional crypto-musing Sender: owner-fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu Phil Zimmermann has an open letter to Congress on ProCODE and HR3011 in today's "The Hill" newspaper, on page 17. Excerpts follow. Unfortunately, no matter how wonderful the ProCODE bill may be (and it is), it isn't going anywhere this year. There's no time left. And in the Senate, national security interests have strong allies who would move to block the bill if it suddenly slithered out of committee. But at least netizens have been able to educate Congress, and the debate is shifting in our favor. Take Sen. Nunn's cyberscare hearing yesterday, where Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick cried that "we will have a cyber equivalent of Pearl Harbor in time." During the hearing, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan) mused: "Part of the problem is we have competing goals... Encryption is one way to secure that data. But law enforcement wants access to that data... It's not just a matter of [strong] encryption. We are torn between these conflicting goals." So while the Hill is waking up, American businesses are losing out. By the time Congress moves on this issue in 1997, it may be too late. -Declan --- The Hill, July 17, 1996, page 17 "Democracy in the Information Age" I urge you to support S.1726, the Burns-Leahy ProCODE bill to lift export controls on cryptographic software, or Goodlatt's House version of the bill, H.R. 3011... ...U.S. software makers cannot incorporate good cryptography features into their products if that results in their inability to export such products... It also threatens the competitiveness of the entire U.S. computer industry, as we lose entire systems sales to foreign competitors, because we cnanot supply systems to our foreign customers if those systems contain cryptographic components. Cryptogrpahy has become the most pivotal technology for privacy and civil liberties in the information age. It is for this reason that I wrote Pretty Good Privacy, now called PGPmail, and published it for free on the Internet in 1991... Privacy is a human right that appeals to everyone across the political spectrum. It offers a rare combination of moral high ground and political safety. The onlyway to hold the line on privacy in the information age is strong cryptography, strong enough to keep out major governments. And S.1726 is our best home for giving Americans access to this essential tool of liberty. Let us bequeath to our children a society that lets them whisper in someone ear, even if the ear is a thousand miles away. Sincerely, PHILIP R. ZIMMERMANN Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Pretty Good Privacy, Inc. 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 570 Redwood City, CA 94065 415-631-1747