Congress Considers Mandatory Crypto Backdoors

disappear writes: "Wired news reports that Congress is considering restrictions on crypto software in the wake of the terrorist attack. 'Nuff said." This will be the next battle -- especially in the wake of this week's tragedies, and the the allegations that the prime suspect Osama Bin Laden is a heavy crypto user. The battle of privacy and safety is going to begin in earnest now.

Comments

Re:Mixed feelings

[1010011010]

MSFT will use this opportunity to get their mandatory-access-controls legislation passed as well, and then go after Free Software with the government at their backs.

groundbreaking solution found!

[frknfrk]

14 September 2001

WASHINGTON: The Senate and the the ACLU came to terms on a groundbreaking new law which sets to forge a compromise on personal freedoms against Congressional needs for cryptographical backdoors to protect the innocent citizens of the United States.

"The solution," said Senator Hilary Clinton, "was so simple, we should have thought of it in the first place. Why force this crypto backdoor upon law-abiding citizens? The obvious solutions was to write a new law which only applies to lawbreakers."

The new law, Senate Resolution 11241, is expected to pass overwhelmingly in the House and be signed into law as early as Monday.

"What a bunch of morons," said Rev. Jesse Jackson, speaking on behalf of the ACLU, the NAACP, Greenpeace, and the Republics of Kuhanmar, Bhuganda, and Jabooti. "Do they even realise how stupid they look?"

The new law has language heretofore unseen in the legal ranks. It clearly spells out that the law "only applies to terrorists, anarchists, and communists", leaving areas such as pornagraphy and 'warez' clearly allowed to do whatever the hell they want.

-sam