Re: Netscape announces position against GAK

[jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>]

At 01:16 AM 12/9/95 -0800, you wrote:

>http://home.netscape.com/newsref/ref/encryption_export.html
>
>>   NETSCAPE PRESENTS POLICY ON ENCRYPTION EXPORT TO KEY MEMBERS OF THE
>>                      ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS
>> 
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> This week Netscape representatives attending a government presentation
>> of the administration's proposed Key Escrow Policy for Export detailed
>> the company's firm opposition to the proposed policy. Netscape is
>> opposed to this type of proposal for a number of reasons including its
>> failure to adequately address the issues of acceptability by foreign
>> governments and corporations, significant personal privacy concerns,
>> and the mandatory nature of tying the Exportable Key Size to the Key
>> Escrow Proposal.
[rest of position deleted]

While this may be a reasonably good start, what I would have preferred that
you say is that if any kind of GAK system is adopted, either foreign or
domestic, you as a corporation would ENTHUSIASTICALLY do everything in your
power to  (_legally_) circumvent, undermine, sabotage, neutralize, and
counteract whatever goals the US government has with reqard to implementing
GAK. In other words, while you might stay barely within the letter of the
law, you would tirelessly exploit every possible loophole (both legal and
technical) to ensure that the government NEVER gets its way.  

I feel certain that with a few imaginative lawyers and programmers (both
foreign and domestic), it should be possible to turn this into a "nightmare
scenario" for the government.