Re: Netscape Security Flaw is a Feature

[Declan McCullagh <declan@pathfinder.com>]

On Thu, 12 Jun 1997, Tim May wrote:

> According to Netscape spokesmen, this feature was added to the kernel of
> Mosaic, then Navigator, in 1993, as part of the Clipper Key Recovery
> Program. As James Clarke put it an interview tonight on MSNBC, "Dorothy
> Denning asked us to insert the "remote read" capabilities to ensure that
> the legitimate needs of law enforcement are met. No person cruising the Web
> has any expectation of privacy, as even Declan McCullagh has pointed out."

Tim misrepresents my position, or does not understand it. I did not say
that. Rather, I argued that you have no "right of privacy" that allows you
generally to restrict the right of others to gossip, trade, or otherwise
share information about you. Such a rule would violate their rights of
free speech.

Like Marc, I hope there is still some role for truth in the debate about
privacy issues. 

-Declan