Newspaper coverage of Administration encryption announcements (fwd)

[Mike Godwin <mnemonic@eff.org>]

Forwarded message:
From postmaster Mon Feb  7 15:10:53 1994
From: Mike Godwin <mnemonic>
Message-Id: <199402072010.PAA04906@eff.org>
Subject: Newspaper coverage of Administration encryption announcements
To: eff-staff, eff-board
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 1994 15:10:49 -0500 (EST)
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The Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal have
all published stories over the last three days concerning the
Administration's announcement on Friday, Feb. 5, 1994, that it will
continue to deploy the controversial "Clipper Chip" encryption technology
and will not significantly change its export controls.

>From the Post on Saturday:

"That means the administration will continue long-standing restrictions on
exports of powerful encryption devices that the NSA cannot crack, and
continue to encourage use of NSA-developed encryption gear, called the
"Clipper chip," by all U.S. firms. The Clipper Chip makes it relatively
easy for the government to eavesdrop on encrypted communications....

"Further, government officials said, the administration is expected in a
few weeks to endorse an FBI proposal that U.S. telecommunications firms be
required to guarantee law enforcement agencies' ability to tape phone and
computer lines regardless of where the technology goes.

"At the core of these high-tech disputes lies a fundamental conflict
between Americans' cherished privacy rights and the government's
investigative needs."

>From the Times on Saturday:

"But the Administration's action immediately drew a chorus of criticism
from both business and privacy-rights groups. Computer and software
companies, including Apple Computer, I.B.M. and Microsoft, have adamantly
opposed the Clipper Chip because they believe customers will not trust an
encryption program that was built by the government and whose inner
workings remain a secret.

"Perhaps more importantly, they fear that it will harm their ability to
export products; they predict that foreign customers will resist buying
computers and telecommunications equipment built with decoding technology
devised by the National Security Agency.

"Privacy-rights groups argue that the technology could lead to
unauthorized eavesdropping, because the keys for unscrambling the code
will remain in official hands.

"'This is bad for privacy, bad for security and bad for exports,' said
Jerry Berman, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a
Washington nonprofit group that lobbies on privacy issues related to
electronic networks. 'The Administration is preparing to implement systems
that the public will not trust, that foreign countries will not buy, and
that terrorists will overcome.'"

>From the Wall Street Journal on Monday:

"The issue has become a controversial one between law enforcement
officials and the computer industry and civil libertarians. In unfolding
details of the administration's decision, Mike Nelson, an official at the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the issue was so difficult
it represented 'the Bosnia of telecommunications policy.'

"Jerry Berman, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a
Washington-based computer users' civil-rights group, said the
administration's handling of the Clipper Chip policy could make it 'as
successful' as the Bosnia policy, which has come under widespread
criticism."


William Safire has also written about this in today's NYTimes.



From owner-cypherpunks  Mon Feb  7 15:40:40 1994