Re: SAFE Bill is a Good Thing--"Crypto For The Masses"

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 6:42 PM -0800 5/1/97, Lucky Green wrote:

>What the bill punishes with five years in prison is the use of encryption
>in FURTHERANCE of a crime.
>
>I will demonstrate at the next SF Bay Area Cypherpunks meeting on Saturday
>May 10, 1997 the use of encryption in furtherance of a crime using only
>three mouse clicks and three keystrokes. No custom scripts, macros, etc.
>involved. In fact, I will gladly perform the demonstration on a computer
>provided by the audience.
>
>That's right folks! Three mouse clicks and three keystrokes will buy you
>*five* years in the federal penitentiary should SAFE become law as
>currently written.
>
>[Since this is a controlled demo, no actual crimes will be committed. Do
>not try this at home! You will be breaking the law.]

I'm looking forward to this demo! Hell, maybe I'll volunteer to actually
commit whatever crime is being furthered!

The language of SAFE would directly impinge on use of anonymous, chained
remailers for many uses. Some use remailers to harass others, a crime in
many jurisdictions. Some use it to post or transfer so-called "child porn,"
a crime in some jurisdictions.

(But, I assure you, our local community--implicated in the Salinas
so-called "porn ring," use PGP to protect themselves from finks. Under
SAFE, these neighbors of mine could be hit with heavier penalties for using
crypto in furtherance of their crimes than the supposed crimes involve!)

Let's call a spade a spade...cryptography, anonymity, and untraceable
digital cash will be used often for criminal purposes. So what else is knew?

By the way, speaking of digital cash, think about the obvious implications
of the SAFE provisions for untraceable digital cash. Talk about a chilling
effect.

--Tim May


There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."