-Caveat Lector- Appeals court rules U.S. encryption policy unconstitutional Copyright © 1999 Nando Media Copyright © 1999 Associated Press By BOB EGELKO SAN FRANCISCO (May 6, 1999 6:31 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Government limits on the export of computer encryption codes is a violation of freedom of expression, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The ruling is a blow to the Clinton administration, which limits exports of the most powerful encryption technology, which scrambles data to prevent eavesdropping, because it fears law enforcement agencies won't be able to read the messages of criminals or terrorists. But the high-tech industry wants relaxed restrictions so it can take full advantage of the booming market for encryption programs as Internet commerce increases. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, upholding a lower-court ruling, said encryption codes contain expressions of ideas and cannot be suppressed indefinitely by government officials. "Cryptographers use source code to express their scientific ideas in much the same way that mathematicians use equations or economists use graphs," Judge Betty Fletcher wrote in the 2-1 ruling. An industry group applauded the ruling. "It's a giant step forward in bringing down export controls," said Tara Lemmey, president of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. The decision upheld the 1996 ruling in the case of Daniel Bernstein, an Illinois mathematics professor who wanted to post his encryption formula on the Internet. Fletcher wrote that Bernstein and other scientists "have been effectively chilled from engaging in valuable scientific expression." A dissenting judge said computer code is more like conduct than speech. It was not clear whether the ruling would permit the dissemination of all encryption codes. The ruling declares the regulations invalid in the nation's largest federal appellate circuit, which covers nine Western states. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is preparing to review another judge's ruling upholding the same regulations. The departments of Justice and Commerce, which reviews encryption licenses, had no comment. "I do not expect that this battle is over," said Bernstein's lawyer, Cindy Cohn. But she said the ruling was "a huge, giant step along the road so that the government can't prevent people from developing this tool, this science." Bernstein, now at the University of Illinois at Chicago, developed an encryption program called Snuffle as an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley in 1990. Two years later, the State Department, which then ran the regulatory program, told him he could not post his code on the Internet without an export license, which he has been unable to get. The Clinton administration recently liberalized its rules to allow encryption of some electronically posted credit card information. But in most cases, the regulations still treat encryption codes like military weapons and forbid their export without a license. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Wingate California Director SKYWATCH INTERNATIONAL ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
