Re: White House crypto proposal -- too little, too late

[Lucky Green <shamrock@netcom.com>]

On Tue, 1 Oct 1996, John Anonymous MacDonald wrote:

> > From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
> > 
> > "What?" I asked. "Unless you're talking about import restrictions."
> > 
> > "Exactly," he said.
> > 
> > -Declan
> 
> I don't doubt that they can do this if they really want to, but I
> wonder what legal basis they will use for import restrictions.

Public safety.

> Are there any current import restrictions for products on can legally
> manufacture, sell, and use in the United States?

Sure. Firearms. The Gun Control Act of 1968 bans the importation of 
supposedly "cheap" firearms that can to this day (though this is about 
to change) legally be manufacturered and sold in the US. For the political 
novices, here is a brief explanation of the often overlooked 
cryptography/"munitions" connection.

A high level of firearms ownership in the population, similarly to a high 
penetration of crypto software, puts an upper boundary on what a 
government can do to its citizens. The first order of any government 
wishing to go beyond this border must therefore be to dramatically reduce 
the level of gun ownership (and crypto, but that is relatively new 
invention.)

Consequently, one of the first laws the Fuhrer had passed was the Firearms 
Control Act of 1933. The USG, also intend on exceeding said boundary (to 
what degree remains to be seen) followed his lead in passing the Gun 
Control Act of 1968, copying much of the 1933 law, often verbatim. This 
should come as no surprise, given the fact that the author of the 1968 
Act was working of a translation of the 1933 law that he requested from 
the Library of Congress.

Once the concept of gun control had been established, it could be 
expanded on in the future and has been so to this day.

What does all that have to do with crypto? It is the *same* issue. In the 
government's view, crypto is a danger to their future plans, just as 
firearms are. Do you think it is a coincidence that crypto is listed as a 
munition? Think about it for just a moment. Crypto is a weapon in the 
hands of the people. And that's what Cypherpunks is all about.

Starting from import restrictions, you will see restrictions on size of 
keys (=maximum rounds in the magazine, now set at 10, proposed to be 
lowered to six), who may own it (no felons, people convicted of certain 
misdemeanors), who may sell it and how it can be purchased (must provide 
identification, sales will be logged). I guess you can figure out the rest.

--Lucky