Biden: Encryption should “permit the government to obtain the plain text” (1991) | Hacker News Reader

Biden: Encryption should “permit the government to obtain the plain text” (1991)

thomas.loc.gov

11 pointsdeclan7 comments

To see the full quote, click on the loc.gov linked URL to Biden's bill, then "text of legislation," then "printer friendly."

You'll see this text: "It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law."

Vice President (then Senator) Biden's bill was what led Phil Zimmermann to publish PGP, as he wrote here in the original 1991 PGP User's Guide:

*"It was this bill that led me to publish PGP electronically for free that year, shortly before the measure was defeated after vigorous protest by civil libertarians and industry groups." http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html

The more things change...

Since this links to a general page on the bill:

> SEC. 2201. COOPERATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT. [0]

> It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law.

[0] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c102:1:./temp/~c102LGb...:

There's a reason I linked to the general page of the bill (in addition to making it clear Biden introduced it in the Senate). That's because Thomas generates temporary URLs; yours no longer works.

They will just keep trying and trying and trying until finally they get what they want. Different language, different bills, different Congresses...it doesn't seem to matter.

What makes you think that?

It hasn't worked for gun control, and plenty of people (most certainly including a lot of gun owners) feel just as strongly on this issue.

This was a big thing in the '90s (along with Federal level gun control), it all failed (like the worst of that Federal level gun control), and eventually the government stopped controlling encryption as a munition. What's different this time, besides the currently not very hot in the US GWoT?

'They' will eventually die, hopefully to be replaced by a generation that values civil liberties. In the meantime, the struggle continues.

If you're interested in this sort of stuff, I highly recommend Steven Levy's 'Crypto', which documents the rise and fall of the Clipper Chip, as well as the release of Zimmerman's PGP software amid the crafting of Biden's legislation. I read it a few months ago and was struck by how relevant it still is. Little did I know...

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