-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- The SanJose Mercury News interviewed Senator Dianne Feinstein for today's paper. She gave a good answer on why encryption is im[prtant for protecting our privacy, then segued into why Law Enforcement needs access to it. Q:"Doesn't government control of encryption technology used by American citizens infringe on their constitutional rights? A:"No one is talking about intrusion on privacy rights".... telephone analogy... "Encryption is already being used by criminals, terrorists, and drug cartels. THe terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center had plans to blow up 11 American commercial airliners. Encrypted files detailing these plots were found on one of the terrorists' computers. Imagine the tragedies that might not be prevented if Law Enforcement officials are unable to decode encrypted files when necessary." Q on her district strongly wants encruption A: "California's high-technology industry is one of the most potent economic and technological forces in the world. The industry is being asked to develop this technology in a way that does not take away Law Enforcement's ability to protect public safety. People's safety must keep pace with new developments in technology or we will live to regret it. I understand the desire, the need even, for companies to be competitive in a world market. In this case, the industry is being asked to put people's safety ahead of their bottom line. It's that simple." - --- and much more rot along those lines. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQBVAwUBNB1dD/thU5e7emAFAQGv+gH+I71kgKcEpZ5Z93T33TFg/vyD5eUvXB+5 JC+HXwC7XTPtghW3ETB8h+GbtkOwumFpq0Xmd3a4xqaF+x4E+JIwUw== =dF+5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, stewarts@ix.netcom.com Regular Key PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639