Re: The Censorware Summit: A Preview, from The Netly News

[Greg Broiles <gbroiles@netbox.com>]

At 11:03 AM 7/16/97 -0700, Lucky wrote:
>I can't remember how RSACi authenticates the tags. I assume they are either
>signed by a CA or not authenticated.
>[...]
>
>2) If the tags are not signed by a CA.
>What is someone to prevent from labeling the NAMBLA monthly site,
>"government authorized news site, suitable for all ages"?

In addition to the criminal penalties which have been discussed, I think
it's possible that a mis-labeller would face a civil suit for trademark
violation or unfair competition - it's also possible to imagine a claim
that the mis-labelling is fraud (particularly if the mis-labelled site
charges for access), which can have civil and criminal penalties. (wire
fraud is also a federal RICO predicate.) 

Then again, if lots of people did it, it'd be awfully tough to sue them all. 


--
Greg Broiles                | US crypto export control policy in a nutshell:
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http://www.io.com/~gbroiles | Export jobs, not crypto.