A Long History for Clipper...

[tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)]

George Gleason writes:

>Agreed with Phil here.  Clipper can't have been developed since Inauguration
>Day; it has to be a hand-me-down from the Bush administration, and I'm
>willing to bet that Clinton has been sold a bill of goods to get his
>support.  Now a lot of folks on this list are ideologically committed to

It's clearly stated that the program is at least 4 years old and that, for
example, the contracts with VLSI Tech and Mxxxxtronix (I keep forgetting
the name of the previously obscure So. Cal. defense contractor) were let 14
months ago, that production of the chips has begun, blah blah. No argument
that the program started under Bush, and perhaps under Reagan (recall his
various NSDDs and the Computer Security Act...).

This doesn't mean the proposal will be casually tossed aside by Clinton as
some objections are raised. Most policies of this sort percolate up through
the entrenched bureacracies in Justice, State, Defense, NSA, etc. In this
case, the AG, Janet Reno, was a well-known drug warrior in the Miami/Dade
area....undoubtedly she made use of wiretaps, seizures, etc. She also
probably understands the issues of law enforcement pretty well and fully
understands what the proposal means.

So, I don't think Clinton will easily change this policy.

A firestorm of proposed civil disobedience, scoffing at the Clipper, etc.,
*might* have some effect. But I don't favor concentrating on legislative
fixes. Give me technology any day.

-Tim

P.S. However, I'm trying to find the net address to send ersatz "protest"
letters to Intergraph Corp about "Clipper." Clipper is the name of their
32-bit RISC chip--my thought is that enough indignant letters to
Intergraph, deliberately confusing the Clinton Clipper with their product,
will get Intergraph's lawyers to file a protest with the Administration!
Perhaps even a name change will be ordered....a minor embarrassment, to be
sure, but a stick in their eye nonetheless.
--
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