Re: Campaign Finance Reform

[tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)]

Sorry that I haven't been following this "Campaign finance reform" thread,
but I did stop to read what Brian Davis said, and his point actually raises
an important game-theoretic issue which we haven't talked about in a while
(maybe because everyone has so internalized it as part of their gestalt
that they see no need to mention it...which I doubt).

At 7:55 PM 12/18/95, Brian Davis wrote:
>On Mon, 18 Dec 1995, jim bell wrote:

>> All of which raises numerous opportunities for sting operations against
>> politicians, done by individuals by procedures provided for under law.
>> Escrow (Okay, I know that's a dirty word around here, but...) an encrypted
>> statement of how you intend to run the sting, to be opened by the escrow
>> agent at some point in the future, explaining who you're going after and
>> how.  Make the contribution, keep evidence, and if you're successfull the
>> congressman goes to jail for a few years.
>
>
>The problem with the private investigation is that law enforcement may
>not believe you were an "innocent" citizen conducting an investigation.
>Remember the ABSCAM Congressman who contended he was conducting his own
>investigation ...

The "game-theoretic issue" is that of the "brilliant penny scam,"
well-known to grifters and con artists and cryptographers (and all good
cryptographers should be aware of cons and scams, as cryptography protocols
bear close resemblances to confidence games, or at least must cope with
them).

I claim that I have a "magic penny," or "brilliant penny," which can
predict which way the price of Netscape stock will move on the next day. I
deposit a sealed prediction of what my brilliant penny told me would
happen, with a reputable escrow agent. I invite investors to cast their lot
with me. On each day, I retrieve the sealed prediction and, voila!, it is
confirmed to be the truth.

Obviously, what I have done is to record predictions covering both
outcomes--Netscape going up and going down--but have conveniently only
retrieved the one I know matches the actual outcome.

(Sure, it's possible to think of some ways to get around this. Left as an
exercise for the student.)

The connection with Jim Bell's idea is obvious. Anyone planning a crime,
say, buying drugs (not a crime in my book, but that's another story), cooks
up a strategy to claim he was "investigating how easily drugs may be bought
on the streets of Minneapolis." He seals a letter to himself detailing how
his "expose" is to be run. If caught, he smugly says, "But I'm just doing a
story on how drugs may be bought. You'll find my description of my plans
sealed in an envelope with my lawyer." Not very convincing.

(The reason this is a variant of the brilliant penny scam is that the costs
of making the claim are low, and the ability to selectively reveal forces
the outcomes to match. Not convincing.)


>Escrowing what you intend to do could be seen as blackmail ammunition if
>the Congressman fails to produce.
>
>Unfortunately for the Cryptoanarchists (tm -- in more ways than one),
>absent law enforcement running the "sting" you are taking a risk of being
>stung yourself.


"Escrowing" where the access key is controlled by the party intending to do
something illegal--blackmail, drugs, etc.--falls into the category I just
described.

Though I'm not a lawyer, I rather suspect courts have looked askance at
such "covers of convenience" intended to be used as protection.

By the way, dramatically better protection is gotten--so I understand--if a
"legitimate" reporting assignment is involved. Thus, if a reporter is
assigned by her editor to try to buy a dime bag on the corner of 8th and
Artesia, and she somewhow gets caught, adequate proof can be produced to
ensure no prosecution occurs (this obviously depends on a lot of factors).

On the issue of bribing officials, there are of course all sorts of ways to
do this. Outright bribes will always be handled more carefully than "mere"
campaign contributions, which are only quasi-bribes.

--Tim May

Views here are not the views of my Internet Service Provider or Government.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
Corralitos, CA              | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839      | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."