Re: San Jose Merc article on s/w industry crypto deal

[dmandl@lehman.com (David Mandl)]

> HIGH-TECH FIRMS WON'T OPPOSE DATA-SCRAMBLING CHIP 
> 
>   THEY'LL ACCEPT 'CLIPPER' PROPOSAL IF U.S. WILL EASE SOFTWARE EXPORT RULES.
> 
> By LEE GOMES 
> Mercury News Staff Writer
> 
> With some privacy advocates crying foul, a group of prominent high-tech
> companies is dropping its opposition to a controversial White House proposal
> for a new data-scrambling chip in exchange for a relaxing of the federal
> rules restricting the export of scrambling software.
> 
> The Digital Privacy and Security Group, a collection of computer companies
> and related associations, said Monday that it could accept the
> administration's ''Clipper'' chip proposal if the chip's adoption was
> voluntary, and if other encryption software were available for sale,
> especially overseas.

What a sell-out (literally).  Will these guys also support the government's
right to conduct random house-to-house searches if they're promised a piece
of the booty?  And Clipper has ALWAYS been "voluntary" (at least so far), so
that part of the deal is no victory at all.  With friends like these...

   --Dave.