PGP 2.5 Warning

[jkreznar@ininx.com (John E. Kreznar)]

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I wrote:

> This should be obvious, but probably bears repetition anyway:

> FREEMAN BEWARE: By switching to PGP 2.5 you would commence to affirm
> with each message you send that you are a subject of the U.S. State.

I have been asked in email what would happen if a person outside the
U.S. were to use it.

If a person were initially not a subject (``outside'') of the U.S., he
would destroy that status in the process of acquiring PGP 2.5.  This
follows from the MIT announcement:

> Date: Mon, 9 May 94 09:32:39 -0400
> From: "Jeffrey I. Schiller" <jis@mit.edu>
> Subject: MIT Announces PGP 2.5

[...]

> This distribution of PGP 2.5, available in source code form, is
> available only to users within the United States of America....

> Users in the United States of America can obtain information via FTP

[...]

For non-commercial use, one has a choice between PGP 2.3a and PGP 2.5.
For a ``United States of America'' user, the legality of 2.3a is
questioned on patent grounds, but 2.5 is available.  For a free
(non-national) person, on the other hand, 2.5 is unavailable according
to the MIT announcement above, but there is no problem with 2.3a.  The
situation seems contrived to force each non-commercial PGP user to
declare whether he is free or a ``United States of America'' user.

Confusion may arise by interpreting ``user in the United States of
America'' as a statement about geography rather than one about
allegiance.  This would be a mistake.  The founding documents of the
United States of America imply that their government is only of those
who consent, so it is clearly a matter of allegiance, not geography.
Acceptance of PGP 2.5 is one way to signal such consent, since 2.3a is
available.

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