[dgc.chat] Fwd: [NEC] #2.12: The RIAA Succeeds Where the CypherPunks Failed

[Patrick Chkoreff]

On Wednesday, December 17, 2003, at 09:38 PM, Steve Schear wrote:

>>> Note that the broadening adoption of encryption is not because users
>>> have become libertarians, but because they have become criminals; to 
>>> a
>>> first approximation, every PC owner under the age of 35 is now a 
>>> felon.
>
> http://www.shirky.com/writings/riaa_encryption.html
>
> I'm not sure if Clay ever hung out on the cypherpunks list.  None of 
> this comes as a surprise.
>  Most knew early on that widespread adoption of crypto would require a 
> killer app and that cypherpunks were not delivering these apps because 
> one could not predict what they would be.


Right, a fair point.  I've heard cypherpunks say that and I do think 
Clay was being a bit hard on them.  To place the cypherpunks in the 
best possible light, perhaps better than they deserve, we might say 
it's sort of like criticizing Nikola Tesla for not routing an AC power 
grid through rural Tennessee.


> They would surely not be PGP and other encrypted email nor digital 
> cash unless and until there was a small but lucrative market that 
> could be addressed by such technology or a large market with broad 
> citizen support.  That file sharing could be it was also recognized a 
> long time ago on the cypherpunks list.

Yes, I have seen statements to that effect.

Mind you, I only had occasional exposure to the cypherpunks list via 
Hettinga's feed.  Which is probably fine because I have heard that 
receiving the cypherpunks list is like drinking from a fire hose, and 
Hettinga seems to forward the really informative and entertaining stuff 
from Tim May, Adam Back, et al anyway.


> The really interesting aspect of this is what it portends for the 
> future.  If, as Clay suggests, the current situation is like 
> Prohibition from citizen perspective can we expect a similar repeal of 
> government surveillance?  If not, what will happen as large numbers of 
> citizens adopt P2P systems that not only flaunt copyright law but 
> communications more dear to those in power?

Right, on the one hand it's cool that hordes of otherwise ordinary 
computer users can become interested in "darknets," but on the other 
hand it's a bit scary that the sheer scale of it is orders of magnitude 
beyond getting a whiskey in a speakeasy.  This could either thoroughly 
discourage the government or motivate them to do really draconian 
things like requiring computers and chips to meet a specific government 
specification which severely limits how they function.  They're working 
on it.


> steve
>
> "For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the 
> law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an 
> open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is 
> closely connected with this." -- Albert Einstein, "My First Impression 
> of the U.S.A.", 1921

Yes, a good observation from the time of the first big "War on Drugs," 
that is, the demon alcohol, wrecker of homes and corrupter of public 
morals, as anyone who has watched "Cops" can attest.  Now I need a 
drink -- a glass of port sounds good.

-- Patrick