At 16:07 1/24/96, Peter D. Junger wrote:

The ITAR are regulations, not a law passed by Congress. The ITAR regulations relating to the export of cryptography are probably not authorized by any law (as well as being unconstitutional). The reason for all the silly twists and turns under the ITAR is that the censors never succeeded in getting any law forbidding the use of cryptography, and it is not at all certain that they could get such a law passed.

They couldn't get a law passed _then_. Nor did they need to. They also don't need one now, because they have rubber regulations at their disposal. They will be able to get a law passed, should their interpretation of the regulations be thrown out by a court. Passing such a law will be *trivial*. Just put in the exceptions for the powerful special interest groups, such as banks. The vote will be near unanimous, as it always is in similar cases. See Digital Telephony. -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred.