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

[bruce@phantom.com (Bruce Fancher)]

[David Mandl] has written:
>
>> 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.
>

That's a really _REALLY_ good point.  I mean, a weak government encryption
standard (like um . . . DES) is basically no different than abolishing the
Fourth Ammendment.  Right?  Right?  Right . . .