http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41008,00.html Top Cop Arrives With Mixed Bag by Declan McCullagh ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) 2:00 a.m. Jan. 5, 2001 PST For liberal Democrats, John Ashcroft is a maddening symbol of everything wrong with a George W. Bush presidency -- from the former senator's staunch opposition to abortion to his alleged insensitivity regarding race. To conservatives, Bush's nominee for attorney general represents precisely the opposite extreme: A respected leader who will restore integrity to a Justice Department brought low by the Clinton administration. Ashcroft opposes background checks at gun shows, supports increased penalties for drug offenses and would not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. On technology issues, Ashcroft's record as a Missouri governor and senator is mixed. He seems genuinely to believe in privacy rights and economic liberty, and has taken a moderate position on intellectual property and fair-use rights. But free-speech groups already are girding themselves for the legal equivalent of trench warfare, predicting that newly emboldened Department of Justice prosecutors will launch an assault on sexually explicit material online. And Microsoft foes fret that the antitrust division's commitment to the high-profile antitrust case may wane. On one point everyone can agree: More than any other Cabinet member, the next attorney general will be in a position to make crucial decisions with far-reaching effects on antitrust enforcement, privacy protections and free speech rights. "An Ashcroft DOJ could be a decidedly mixed bag for the high-tech sector since he will be engaged in a constant balancing act on most industry issues," says Adam Thierer, an analyst at the free-market Cato Institute who's well connected in Republican technology circles. "While Ashcroft has a very strong record of support for loosening encryption controls, he may be faced with pressure from GOP law-and-order types to moderate his views on this and also be willing to continue, or even expand FBI efforts like Carnivore," Thierer said. Make that a near certainty. It's a fair bet that pro-law enforcement conservatives in the mold of wiretap-happy Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida, who unsuccessfully ran for the state's open Senate seat, will view a Republican DOJ as an opportunity to expand government surveillance and wiretapping powers. Liberal Democrats have vowed opposition to Ashcroft's nomination -- People for the American Way even assembled a detailed criticism of the nominee -- but privately confide that they don't expect to successfully block his confirmation by the Senate. Wiretapping and Carnivore: Under Attorney General Janet Reno, a DOJ panel has reviewed the FBI's controversial Carnivore surveillance system and extended a tentative blessing. But critics panned the review board as uniformly pro-government, as first reported by Wired News, and independent researchers refused to participate in the process. Ashcroft is the former two-term attorney general and two-term governor of Missouri. During his time there, he cemented his reputation as a solid conservative eager to lower taxes and build new prisons. [...] Encryption: More than almost any other senator, Ashcroft has been a foe of the Clinton administration's restrictions on encryption products. He convened at least one key hearing on the subject and consistently took a pro-privacy point of view. Under federal law, a president has the power to levy export restrictions punishable by fines and jail time. The Clinton administration recently relaxed the regulations, against DOJ and FBI opposition, but did not remove them. The attorney general has no direct authority over encryption regulations, but the DOJ under Reno has lobbied Congress for more stringent controls, and is a key participant in administration decisions on the topic. Also, Ashcroft's position on encryption could indicate how he views broader privacy matters. "The great thing about working for him is he truly understands technology," says Bartlett Cleland, a former Ashcroft aide who is now a vice president at the Information Technology Association of America. "I'd rather have someone there who's thoughtful and considerate rather than a knee-jerk person." "John has a record in the Senate that says he stood up very strongly on encryption, including holding hearings and defending the Fourth Amendment against Louis Freeh," Cleland says. Lisa Dean, vice president of the conservative Free Congress Foundation, said in a statement on Thursday: "Privacy was always a top concern and as a result, (Ashcroft) did a lot of good for the country and the protection of our liberties as senator. I can only imagine that as AG, the service he would provide will be tenfold." As a senator, Ashcroft introduced the unsuccessful "E-Privacy" bill to liberalize -- although not remove -- export controls on encryption products. At the time, Dean's group and others complained that "we cannot support E-Privacy as presently drafted" and urged him to revise the measure. Ashcroft's general support of encryption could be explained by simple politics: The White House backed the rules, so Republicans were able to attack Clinton while showing their support for Silicon Valley by criticizing them. But two years ago, back when the debate was fierce, Ashcroft seemed so taken by the issue it seems likely he's sincere. In a statement posted on his Senate website -- now removed due to his loss in the election, he said: "The availability of proper encryption software would guarantee the freedom of individual citizens to carry out their personal commerce and communication." Intellectual Property: When it comes to intellectual property, Ashcroft can best be described as a pragmatist, or perhaps a moderate. His Senate record shows he's not beholden to Hollywood, but neither was he a fast friend of geeks and open-source developers. [...] Remainder at: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41008,00.html
