Moral Crypto

[Eric Murray]

On Tue, Sep 04, 2001 at 12:38:52PM -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote:
> On Sun, Sep 02, 2001 at 12:34:31PM -0700, Tim May wrote:
> > The other remailers can theoretically band together as some kind of 
> > guild and reject packets from "rogue" remailers, but there are numerous 
> > practical problems. Identifying a "rogue" remailer which "allows" 
> > packets from "baddies" (e.g, from Mormons, or free speech advocates) 
> 
> In the next five years or so, I would not be suprised to see a call
> for federal licensing of remailers. 

I don't think that there is enough remailer traffic or remailers
to require the feds to go throught the work of getting a law passed
and setting up a licensing program.  It's be nice if there was!

It's more likely that remailers will get closed outright.

There will probably be an ISP or email licensing program put into
place, with the same "code of conduct" and/or mandatory logging
that you think will be forced on remailers being forced on
all email servers.  Remailers would be found in violation of the order
and shut down.

Another way to kill remailers would be through anti-spam legislation
that forbids "forging" email headers.  We're already seeing some of
this.

Or, the feds will just set up a 'sting' on the remailer system by sending
kiddie porn or bomb-making info through the remailer net and then busting
each exit point in turn.  It doesn't even need to be with charges which
would stick in court, as almost anyone will fold when thrown in jail
for a while and/or faced with huge legal bills.

My guess is that the first or second is most likely.  It won't even be
targeted at remailers, just at regular email.  

Killing remailers will be a by-product of regulating the net.


Eric