Re: Encouraging News - France

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

I'm extremely skeptical that France will truly liberalize crypto use by its
citizen-units. Rather, I expect they will just be falling in line with the
OECD/Wasenaar/New World Order "trusted third party" key recovery approach
that the United States, Britain, and other European and Asian countries are
behind-the-scenes adopting.

At 10:16 AM -0700 9/1/97, Brian B. Riley wrote:
> From <http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/8e46a.htm>
>
>>Encryption technology: French boost for internet software
>
>>MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 1997
>>By Andrew Jack in Paris
>
>>France is poised to liberalise regulations on computer encryption
>>technology which could boost its efforts to encourage development of the
>>internet.

Does anyone think this means: "Hey, use whatever crypto program you want.
Use something SDECE cannot break!"?

Given the monopoly France Telecom has on Internet access, I'd expect a
"solution" that involves FT issuing keys, or something equally brain dead
as that.

(I gave an invited talk on crypto anarchy at a conference in Monaco a few
years ago, and spoke to several France Telecom representatives. They made
it quite clear that France was not going to tolerate independent ISPs, and
that France Telecom would administer any crypto ever to be used by the
populace. Maybe this policy has changed, but I doubt it. Whatever France's
charms, open debate is not one of them.)


>>The government is shortly to publish an official decree which would for
>>the first time allow easy access to and use of software which encodes
>>sensitive information in order to protect it from unauthorised
>>interception.

I'll bet 1000 francs that this will not mean citizens can use PGP openly.
(I know some Frenchies who are already using PGP, of course.)



>>The new decree in France follows a 1996 telecommunications regulation
>>law, which opened the way to liberalisation of encryption software but
>>which has so far not led to publication of any details of how the
>>measures could be applied.

One wag put it this way: "Any Frenchman may apply for a permit to use
strong cryptography. The same way any Frenchman may apply for a permit for
an Exocet missile."

--Tim May

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
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."