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- Newsgroups: sci.crypt
- Subject: Re: PKP/RSA comments on PGP legality
- Message-ID: <a_rubin.724442396@dn66>
- From: a_rubin@dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin)
- Date: 15 Dec 92 17:59:56 GMT
- References: <1galtnINNhn5@transfer.stratus.com> <hmiller.724397340@lucpul.it.luc.edu> <1992Dec15.110814.27222@netcom.com>
- Organization: Beckman Instruments, Inc.
- Nntp-Posting-Host: dn66.dse.beckman.com
- Lines: 85
-
- In <1992Dec15.110814.27222@netcom.com> strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
-
- >Hugh Miller's article is filled with so many inaccuracies it's hard to
- >know where to start, so I'll treat only a few; the remainder is left
- >to others as it's pretty late at night. I'm going to digest, since the
- >message is so long.
-
- So is yours.
-
- >The first part consists of a massive imputation of motives to Jim
- >Bidzos simply because he gave Carl Ellison some information. As it
- >happens, he gave the same information to me and others. Miller's
- >analysis reads like a paranoid piece of thinking to me.
-
- The analysis seems reasonable to me. Bidzos can deny that his statements
- represent the position of RSA/PKP (and, in fact, he did, except to say that
- their position is that you should use RSADEF subject to its license,
- without saying what is in that license.)
-
- >He next finds the advocacy of ripem (which is legal) rather than
- >PGP (which is not, in the U.S.) sinister. More paranoia?
-
- ripem is illegal outside of the usa, and clearly belongs to RSA inside.
- PGP _might_ be illegal in the usa.
-
- >He then decides to interpret Bidzos' comments as "threats" instead
- >of statements of fact about Bidzos' interpretation of the PKP patents
- >and the Munitions Act. I must tell Miller, who appears to be winging
- >it without checking the Act, that Bidzos message to me contained
- >extensive quotations from the Munitions act which make it absolutely
- >clear to me that Bidzos is accurate and so is Ellison's summary.
-
- Did you read the Munitions act yourself? How do you know that Bidzos
- didn't make up some of the quotes, or that they have not been repealed.
- (BTW, it also appears that an act effecting which of
- Commerce/State/Defense has jurisdiction _may_ only give to Defense what
- Commerce has waived, in the case of published (or specifically,
- public domain) encryption software.) Consult _your_ lawyer, not that of
- the opposition, if you want legal advice that benefits you.)
-
- ...
-
- >Then Miller characterizes as "intimidation and innuendo" what I would
- >characterize as "fair warning." He leaps from Bidzos mentioning that
- >PKP in the U.S. is an ITAR violation (Bidzos provided detailed
- >Munitions Act quotes in his message to me which convinces me he's
- >right), to Bidzos prosecuting developers under the ITAR. That's a
- >totally false statement. Miller then decides to use this as a way to
- >vamp to his obvious dislike of the Reagan Administration. Has no one
- >told Miller that Bush is President, and soon Clinton.
-
- I agree with you on this one; IF Bidzos quoted the Munitions Act correctly,
- and it has not been modified by other laws (as I noted above), then
- importing or exporting encryption software would be an ITAR violation. _I_
- think he intended it as a threat, but it could be interpreted as a warning.
-
- >Next we have a superb analysis of why the government won't prosecute
- >anyway (because they're embarrassed by a few other incidents) which
- >simply takes the breath away, and is likely to go down in legal
- >annals. I'd hate to be a D.A. taking instructions from Miller.
-
- It actually seems reasonable to me. I'd hate to be a D.A. persecuting/
- prosecuting Miller. Unless the government can find some excuse to make it
- a classified trial, I doubt they will prosecute any ITAR violations on
- published software. On the other hand, the government can seize a
- computer, and never get around to prosecuting.
-
- >Miller then moves to an attempt to argue that one may, with
- >impunity, post export-prohibited materials to a bulletin
- >board which foreigners have access to. His arguments at this
- >point have become pathetic in his eagerness to make himself
- >right and RSA wrong. He'd better talk to a few software companies
- >which sell export controlled materials, to see what safeguards
- >are, in fact required.
-
- There, I agree with you. It is clearly illegal to post export-controlled
- materials on a BBS. However, R should then have been prosecuted for
- writing his Scientific American article, as Scientific American is sent
- world-wide.
-
- --
- Arthur L. Rubin: a_rubin@dsg4.dse.beckman.com (work) Beckman Instruments/Brea
- 216-5888@mcimail.com 70707.453@compuserve.com arthur@pnet01.cts.com (personal)
- My opinions are my own, and do not represent those of my employer.
- My interaction with our news system is unstable; please mail anything important.
-