AP story on PGP

[anon-remailer@utopia.hacktic.nl (Anonymous)]

U.S. Attorney Won't Prosecute Author of Computer Encryption Program
By ELIZABETH WEISE=
AP Cyberspace Writer=
	   SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A software writer won't be prosecuted for a
program he wrote that was put on the Internet and is now widely
used by computer users to keep their communications secret, the
government said Thursday.
	   Philip Zimmermann's Pretty Good Privacy encryption program turns
computer messages into a jumble of numbers and letters unreadable
to anyone except the intended recipient.
	   The code is so unbreakable that it is classified as munitions
under the Arms Export Control Act, making its export without a
license a felony.
	   Federal prosecutors began investigating Zimmerman in 1993 after
the program appeared on the Internet global computer network.
Zimmerman said that others put it there, not him.
	   The government opposes export of cryptographic technology for
fear it will make it harder to monitor electronic communications
overseas, and domestic law enforcement agencies are concerned such
programs could keep them from eavesdropping on digital
conversations.
	   U.S. Attorney Michael J. Yamaguchi announced the decision not to
prosecute Zimmerman, but didn't say why. If convicted, Zimmermann
would have faced 51 months in prison.
	   ``I'm just really pleased that the sword of Damocles is not over
me anymore and I wonder why it took so long,'' Zimmermann said in a
phone interview from his home in Boulder, Colorado.
	   ``This is not just for spies anymore. It's for the rest of us.
The information age is here. The rest of us need cryptography to
conduct our business.''
	   The case had been closely watched as computer users and the
government square off over free speech and privacy rights.
	   Some critics contended it was foolish of the government to claim
that Zimmerman had broken the law because the same coding
information forbidden for export electronically may be shipped
abroad in print form. They also noted that the technology already
circulates throughout the world, making the law unenforceable.
	   ``Zimmermann never exported Pretty Good Privacy, so the U.S.
Attorney seemed to be missing the point. Unfortunately there still
is no clear ruling from our government as to whether or not making
software available on the Internet counts as exporting it,'' said
Simson Garfinkel, who wrote a book about the program.
	   Zimmerman's supporters argued that without encryption,
government could do widespread eavesdropping, perhaps for political
reasons, scanning for words and phrases it considers subversive.
They acknowledge that a few criminals may use programs like PGP to
hide out in cyberspace, but believe that concern is outweighed by
free speech and privacy rights.
	   ``The case was part of the government effort to crack down on
good technologies for privacy. We hope the government's decision
signals a rethinking of federal policy in this very important
area,'' said Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center in Washington, an on-line civil rights watchdog group.
	   Others see the 2.5-year investigation of Zimmermann as
intimidation.
	   ``It seems to me is that all the U.S. Attorney is saying is that
they don't want the public relations nightmare of prosecuting
Philip Zimmermann, but they still want everyone scared so that they
won't exercise their Constitutional rights,'' Garfinkel said.
	   ---
	   Pretty Good Privacy is available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.epic.org/privacy/tools.html