The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998/hackers_encyclopedia.iso/zines/cud/cud632.txt

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Computer underground Digest    Tue  Apr 12, 1994   Volume 6 : Issue 32
                           ISSN  1004-042X

       Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer ([e-mail])
       Archivist: Brendan Kehoe (He's Baaaack)
       Acting Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
       Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
                          Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
                          Ian Dickinson
        Suspercollater:       Shrdlu Nooseman

CONTENTS, #6.32 (Apr 12, 1994)

File 1--An Issues Primer for the Lamacchia Case
File 2-- MIT Butt-Covering?
File 3--New Edition of E-Zine-List available
File 4--Ratings Bandwidth
File 5--"I Have Seen the Future"  (Satire)
File 6--Badgering LambdaMOO
File 7--Edwards to Lopez
File 8--Gilmore Files Clipper FOIA
File 9--Arrests of Juvenils in New Zealand for Bomb-making  llegal
File 10--PRODIGY Forges Ahead With New Features
File 11--NY bill to make govt. info available online - act NOW!

Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
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COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 22:48:00 -0500
From: Silverglate & Good <[e-mail]>
Subject: File 1--An Issues Primer for the Lamacchia Case

                       An Issues Primer
                    in the Criminal Prosecution of
            _United States of America vs. David LaMacchia_
                  (U. S. District Court, Boston, MA)

      There has been a lot of mis-information and mis-understanding
 floating around the electronic and print media concerning the issues
 in the prosecution of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 undergraduate David LaMacchia, who was indicted on April 7, 1994 in
 the federal District of Massachusetts.  This issues primer is meant
 to clarify what the case is and is not about, and to place into some
 perspective the legal issues raised.  The purpose of this memo is
 not, at this stage, to discuss any contested evidence in the case,
 since that will be played out at a later stage.  Some of the case's
 legal implications are, however, clear from the start.

                             * * *

 >>> The charge in the indictment:

      The indictment charges that David LaMacchia, by operating a
 computer bulletin board system, or "BBS", at M.I.T. during a period
 of some six weeks, thereby permitted and facilitated the illegal
 copying and distribution of copyrighted software by other unknown
 persons (presumably, the many computer users who logged onto the
 BBS).  It is further alleged that LaMacchia knew that others were
 using his system for such a purpose, although it is *not* alleged
 that the BBS was not used for other, lawful communication purposes as
 well.  There is *no* allegation that LaMacchia himself uploaded,
 downloaded, sold, profited from, used, or actually transmitted any
 such software.  The government does not allege that LaMacchia
 violated the federal copyright or computer fraud statutes.  Rather,
 the prosecution has charged him with engaging in a criminal
 conspiracy to violate the federal wire fraud statute, which was
 enacted in 1952 to prevent the use of the telephone wires in
 interstate fraud schemes.

                             * * *

 >>> What this case is *not* about:

      This is *not* a case about whether *"software piracy"* is
 illegal under federal law.  Both sides in the case are proceeding,
 and will proceed, on the assumption that it is *not* lawful to make
 and distribute copies of copyrighted computer software without paying
 a licensing or royalty fee to the copyright owner.  There is likely
 to be agreement as well that if copyrighted software above a certain
 value is willfully copied and sold, a criminal copyright violation
 has occurred.

      David LaMacchia is *not* alleged in the indictment to have
 _uploaded_ or _downloaded_, _transmitted to anyone_ or even _used
 personally_, any copyrighted software on the computer bulletin board
 system ("BBS"), or "node", that he created and operated from an
 M.I.T. computer.

      LaMacchia is *not* alleged to have _sold_ any copyrighted
 software, _nor profited_ one penny from the copying or distribution
 of any such software.

      It is *not* alleged that the computer BBS was used *exclusively*
 to transfer copyrighted software.  Indeed, the indictment alleges
 that "part" of the conspiracy was to transmit "files and messages" on
 the system, part was "to create a library of software", and that
 "part" of the scheme was to allow some users to "unlawfully download
 copyrighted software."

                             * * *

 >>> What this case *is* about:

      This case raises the following significant issues in the overall
 larger question of whether, and how, the principles underlying
 freedom of speech and of the press (the First Amendment) will be
 applied to the world of computer communications ("cyberspace"):

           1.  Under current criminal statutes, may a systems operator
      ("SYSOP") of a computer BBS be held criminally responsible for
      what *users* of the system do while logged onto the network,
      including the exchange of copyrighted software or indeed, the
      publication of other copyrighted materials?

           2.  If current criminal statutes, including the "wire
      fraud" statute that LaMacchia is alleged to have "conspired" to
      violate, are interpreted to reach the SYSOP who does not himself
      upload, download, copy, use, or sell copyrighted software, do
      those statutes, as so interpreted, violate the First Amendment,
      and are they therefore unconstitutional?

           3.  In light of the uncertainty over whether and how
      current statutes, including the federal "wire fraud" statute,
      apply to the activities of a SYSOP of a computer BBS, does the
      government violate the "Due Process of Law" provision of the
      Fifth Amendment to the Constitution which prohibits criminal
      prosecution unless Congress has given citizens clear notice of
      what conduct is prohibited, by seeking to impose *criminal*
      liability on a SYSOP like LaMacchia, where any reasonable person
      (even a legal expert, but much less a 20-year-old undergraduate)
      would not have known that his conduct even arguably was a crime?
      In short, was LaMacchia given adequate *notice* that the wire
      fraud statute would be stretched to cover his activity?  Is it
      fair, or constitutional, to prosecute such a person before the
      law is *clarified*?

                             * * *

 >>> Discussion:

      The First Amendment to the United States Constitution has long
 conferred special protection on those engaged in the activity of
 maintaining communications media.  Part of this protection has
 involved protecting such persons from being held *criminally*
 responsible for the criminal misuses of their systems and media by
 other people.  Thus, for example:

           It is well-known that certain classified advertisements for
      "_dating services_" found commonly in some newspapers are really
      covers for high-class *prostitution* rings.  Yet only the people
      who actually run the prostitution services are prosecuted for
      those violations of law.  Editors and publishers of the
      newspapers are *not* prosecuted on some legal theory that their
      classified sections -- and therefore they themselves -- somehow
      "aided" or "conspired with" the prostitution rings in the
      criminal prostitution enterprise, even if the editors and
      publishers were well aware of the fact that their newspapers
      were being mis-used for an illegal purpose.

           It is well-known that gambling "numbers" syndicates utilize
      newspaper reports of scores of the outcomes of certain athletic
      events, as the basis for illegal sports-betting operations.
      Only the bookies are criminally prosecuted for such gambling
      activity.  The newspapers -- their editors, publishers, and
      reporters included -- are never criminally prosecuted for the
      illegal activities of those who thus use the published sports
      reports.

           In nearly every lending library in the country, there are
      one or more photocopying machines sitting in the midst of large
      number of books, many of which are copyrighted.  Librarians
      surely understand that a certain number of people who make
      photocopies on those machines are copying *copyrighted*
      material, perhaps in violation of the copyright laws.  There
      does not appear to be a criminal prosecution of any such
      librarians for "aiding" or "facilitating" breaches of the
      copyright laws.

            The owner or manager of a bookstore may not be criminally
      prosecuted for the distribution of obscene material if, in a
      bookstore carrying a wide variety of printed materials, a
      certain quantity of those materials contain obscene portions.
      It does not even matter whether the bookstore owner or manager
      suspects that some of the material in the store may contain
      obscene matter.  It is not his or her legal responsibility to
      monitor and censor such materials, according to the United
      States Supreme Court.  (_Smith v. California_, 361 U.S. 147
      (1959))

      The reason why the editor, publisher, reporter, librarian, and
 bookstore-owner and manager are all protected against criminal
 prosecution, is because the First Amendment protects them from being
 held criminally responsible for the acts of those who use, or
 mis-use, their media or their facilities.  In short, because of the
 First Amendment, we do not assign to such people the role of being
 *censors* or "media cops."

      In the case of a SYSOP (like David LaMacchia) of a computer BBS,
 the First Amendment would appear to protect him from criminal
 liability for the arguably illegal actions of other people using (or
 mis-using) his system to upload, download, transfer, copy, and use
 copyrighted software.  Just as with the owner or manager of a
 bookstore or the librarian, it would be impossible for a SYSOP to
 monitor everything being uploaded to or downloaded from his computer
 BBS.  Were such liability imposed, nobody would risk being a SYSOP,
 and virtually every computer BBS in the country would shut down.
 This is what the First Amendment is supposed to prevent.

      The question in the _LaMacchia_ case is whether the First
 Amendment protections that have long applied to those in the print
 medium, should apply fully to those in the computer communications
 medium.  Because the law has been slow in adjusting to the age of
 digital communications, there have been relatively few legal tests of
 the scope of First Amendment protections in cyberspace.  Civil
 libertarians have assumed that there surely should be no less
 constitutional protection for free speech and free press in
 cyberspace than elsewhere.  Those few courts tests that have happened
 indicate that the First Amendment is indeed alive and well in
 cyberspace.

      Now, in the case of _United States v. David LaMacchia_, we will
 learn whether the Department of Justice will be permitted to bend and
 stretch the old federal criminal "wire fraud" statute to cover the
 activities of a SYSOP who himself violates no copyright law, does not
 profit from the activities of others, and who merely runs the system
 perhaps even suspecting or knowing that it is being used for a wide
 variety of purposes -- some legal and some arguably illegal, or
 whether Congress, if it wishes to criminalize such activity, will
 have to pass a statute *clearly* making it a crime for a SYSOP to
 operate in this fashion.  If and when such a statute is enacted, the
 question of whether the First Amendment allows a SYSOP to be treated
 differently than a publisher, an editor, or a bookstore owner or
 manager, would have to be decided of course.  But surely no SYSOP
 should be criminally prosecuted in the *absence* of such a statute,
 with no warning at all that he could face prison because it did not
 (and reasonably could not) occur to him that someone would claim
 under *current* law that he was committing a crime.


                          Harvey A. Silverglate
                          Sharon L. Beckman
                          Silverglate & Good
                          89 Broad Street
                          Boston, MA 02110
                          Tel [phone]
                          Fax [phone]
                          [e-mail]

                          David Duncan
                          Zalkind, Rodrigues, Lunt & Duncan
                          65a Atlantic Avenue
                          Boston, MA 02110
                          Tel [phone]
                          Fax [phone]

                          Legal Counsel for David LaMacchia

 Dated:  April 11, 1994.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 18:33:15 +0000
From: [e-mail] (Graham Toal)
Subject: File 2-- MIT Butt-Covering?

In the MIT tech newspaper:

       "We became aware sometime in December that a computer was
       being used to distribute software," said Kenneth D.
       Campbell, director of the news office. "That information
       was turned over to Campus Police and the FBI. MIT
       personnel cooperated with the FBI in the investigation."

       The incident was discovered when an Athena-user in the
       Student Center cluster noticed that an unattended
       workstation next to him was behaving abnormally, making
       frequent disk accesses, according to James D. Bruce ScD
       '60, vice president for Information Systems.

       The user apparently reported the abnormal behavior to
       members of the Student Information Processing Board, who
       then proceeded to investigate the matter, according to a
       source familiar with the investigation. The SIPB members
       saw the status of the workstation and reported the
       incident to the Information Systems staff, the source
       said.

Most places I know of, if something like an FSP site was found, the
Dean or equivalent would take the student to one side and give him a
good verbal rap on the knuckles - maybe suspend his account for a time
- and put him back on the straight and narrow with the fear of god in
him.  It's pretty depressing that schools are now so litigation-scared
that they feel they have to cover their backs and get the police
involved.  This is the effect SPA et al are having.  I can't see it
being for the greater good myself.  It ups the stakes and means that
any other sys admin in charge of a University site will now be obliged
to call LE in, or risk being charged as conspirators themselves.

(At least, I *presume* it was fear that led to the law enforcement
agencies because MIT wasn't to make sure their hands were clean.

                                ......

Also, I'd like to know *who* drew up the indictment against David -
who it was that thought using pgp and anonymous remailers was something
worth mentioning.  This *isn't* the sort of stuff I'd expect the Boston
DA to know about.  Either someone at MIT is deliberately shit-stirring
or the DA got help from <outside agencies>...  my personal suspicion
is that that little gem came from MIT and young David is caught up in
something larger than his FSP warez server problems...  Does anyone
have a way of finding out who was responsible for that part?  Is it
FOIA-able?  Or can David's lawyer's expect to be told as part of his
defence?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 04 Apr 94 01:10:18 -0700
From: John Labovitz <[e-mail]>
Subject: File 3--New Edition of E-Zine-List available

This is to announce a New Edition of my E-Zine-List, a guide to
zines on the net.

The newest edition of the list can be obtained in the following ways:

  anonymous FTP:
    ftp.netcom.com: /pub/johnl/zines/e-zine-list (ASCII text version)
                                     e-zine-list.html (HTML version)

  World Wide Web:
    ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/johnl/zines/e-zine-list.html

  FTP-mail
    send the message "help" to [e-mail] for more information

  email:
    [e-mail]

A few notes:

  * I'm changing my email contact address from [e-mail] to
    [e-mail].  Any further correspondence should be addressed to me here.
    I will eventually be changing the FTP site (and hopefully getting it
    on a real WWW sever); I'll let you know when that happens.

  * At one point I had started a list of people who wanted to receive the
    full version of an edition of the list when it came out.  I've realized
    that this is simply too timeconsuming for me to implement.  If you are
    one of those people who'd like the list by email, I'd recommend using
    the above FTP-mail server to get the list.  At last resort, I'll send
    out copies manually, but I'd rather not do it too much.

  * And lastly, sorry for the delay between editions.  I've been trying
    to issue a New Edition every month, but it hasn't been working out quite
    that often.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 02:22:11 -0500 (EDT)
From: "Ofer Inbar" <[e-mail]>
Subject: File 4--Ratings Bandwidth

  I'm a little behind on my CuDs, and I just got through reading some
of the articles from several months ago about a Usenet ratings system.
A few people mentioned bandwidth as a possible concern, so I looked up
the most recent NSFnet per-port usage stats.  Here are the top ten
services, ordered by packet count:

             NSFNET Backbone Traffic Distribution by Service
                             February 1994

                      Packet Total:  59,978,894,650
                      Byte Total:    11,415,444,417,600

 Service Name            Port   Packet Count    % Pkts     Byte Count  % Byts
 ============            ====   ============    ======  =============  ======
 ftp-data                  20    12374824000    20.632  4482332174350  39.266
 (other_tcp/udp_ports)   -999    11411443650    19.026  1436332023900  12.582
 telnet                    23     8808333200    14.686   647239528300   5.670
 nntp                     119     5071822850     8.456  1113129303700   9.751
 smtp                      25     4826063100     8.046   766131455150   6.711
 domain                    53     3521902850     5.872   327470529450   2.869
 icmp                      -1     2366466900     3.945   204080814350   1.788
 ip                        -4     2079238450     3.467   635027078800   5.563
 irc                     6667     1539952250     2.567   165244146650   1.448
 gopher                    70     1472386850     2.455   396066059800   3.470

  We can see that NNTP, the protocol used for transporting Usenet news
over the Internet, is high on the list, accounting for about 10% of
the data traversing the NSFnet.  We can also see that about four times
as much bandwidth is being used to transport files by ftp.  This is
assuming that NSFnet statistics are a good barometer for the rest of
the Internet, but I don't think that's such a bad assumption.
  It seems to me the real growth is in ftp and similar services, such
as gopher and web/mosaic.  NNTP is a very efficient way to distribute
information, where everything is locally cached.  (Efficient for the
network, that is, not for your disks!).  The popularity of graphics
files, for instance, increases ftp traffic much more than news
traffic.  And when full motion video and audio become more common, as
will undoubtedly happen not too long from now, this will be even more
pronounced.
  People speculating about Usenet ratings have suggested that there
may be as many rating messages floating about as there are "real"
postings.  However, even if NNTP traffic doubled, that's still half as
much as ftp.  Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if rating
information became more common than "real" information, since it's
actually more useful, or makes the "real" information more useful,
depending on how you look at it.  But even if NNTP traffic were to
triple due to ratings, it would be worth it.  One poster mentioned
128-byte PGP signatures as a potential problem.  But in the days of
video delivered by net, PGP signatures will be among the least of our
worries.

OK, so now for the real question:
  The ratings idea is one that has been floating about the net in
various forms for a while now, and it's clearly a great idea.  But, is
anyone actually working on programming it?
  BTW, one potential of ratings that I don't remember seeing mentioned
here yet is its commercial potential.  A good "editor" or similar
business could make money selling subscriptions to their private
ratings service.  This is a good model for letting information
continue to flow freely, while still allowing for people to make money
off the information economy.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 01:05:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail](Karl Tarhk)
Subject: File 5--"I Have Seen the Future"  (Satire)

I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE
Satire by [e-mail]

(Sing along with your favorite blues song)

I want to be a rebel
I want to fit in
in the new-tech revolution
in the new scheme of things

I will read Mondo-2000
and Wired magazines,
I will join a hacker group
and be into that scene

CHORUS:

I have seen the future
It is computers and french fries,
CD-ROMS, 3DO and cryptography
with a little mustard on the side

Crypto-hacker, Compu-rebel
Cyberpunk, yes, those are my names!
I am so bad..
I just can't believe myself

I am such a rebel
I write an electronic magazine..
I'll become so famous and quoted,
you're not gonna believe

CHORUS:

I have seen the future
It is computers and french fries,
Virtual Reality, 500 channels
with a little ketchup on the fly

I am so self assured,
well read and full of grace
that I have the need to wave
my degrees in your face!

I am such an anarchist
the government is after me..
for opposing Clipper
and drinking Chinese tea

CHORUS:

I have seen the future
It is Computers and french fries,
MUDS, Raves and Cyber-Sex
with a little KY-jelly on the side

A philantropist, a writer,
glorified and interviewed
worship me now, before
Uncle Sam gets you fooled

And when I retire
I'll start a consulting firm
In a month I'll make more bucks
than you'll ever earn!

CHORUS:

I have seen the future
It is Computers and french fries,
Interactive TV and desktop video
with a some mayo on the fly

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 6 Apr 94 23:16 WET DST
From: [e-mail](GrimJim)
Subject: File 6--Badgering LambdaMOO

In response to "Mr. Badger" (CuD #6.29):

>To attempt to impart special significance to fantasies on-line does nothing
>but debase the truth concerning actual acts of aggression.

Agreed.  The degree of aggression here is more on the order of a prank
phone call.  Maybe harassment at the most.  Of course, merely being an
ass isn't illegal.

>Do I think [t]he MUDers took things too seriously?  Of course!
>Boot the offender off the system and have done with it.  If
>push comes to shove, grab your marbles and go play elsewhere.
>Heck, for all I care, argue about it on-line until your phone
>line melts.  Just don't try and draw shoddy parallels to real
>life that only serve to weaken judgment in both realms.

Interesting that I was mentioned in the subject line yet my arguments
were at most only vaguely referred to at the end of Mr. Badger's
response, if not downright ignored.  Just what was "shoddy" about my
analogy between Usenet article forgery and MUD character fakery save
for the scale of the impact?  If my parallels are indeed "weak",
please do point any flaws out, but spare me any rhetorical handwaving.

My basic proposition is simple: by playing on MUDs, the players
engaged the expression of intellectual property via the computerized
medium of interactive text.  The financial repercussions were
negligible in this case, but it's human nature to be protective of
something in which one has invested time and effort.

My proposition does not conflate fantasy and reality.  For instance, a
character, being an expression of intellectual property and not an
actual person, cannot be libeled or defamed.

Confusion may occur when people slip between reality (sometimes
referred to as OOC, or "out of context") and fantasy mode (IC, or "in
context").  An attack made IC, or on the character, may be
misinterpreted as being OOC, or on the person.  This is
miscommunication, however.

This potential for miscommunication is interesting, though it hardly
justifies wild philosophical ramblings of the type in the cited
Village Voice article.

Since most people on Usenet post as themselves (OOC), there is usually
no fantasy (IC) to confuse the matter.  On Usenet, attacks on others
are attacks, plain and simple.  But there is nothing innately
different between the media of MUD, IRC, and Usenet in their ability
to distinguish between IC and OOC behavior; it is merely a matter of
social convention (or rules, or etiquette).  Thus, my parallel between
Usenet message forgery and MUD character fakery.  It appears to me
that there is a lack of a uniform social convention on MUDs; as a
result, miscommunication is all too common.

People arguably take things too seriously in the "real" world, judging
from the number of spurious lawsuits and torts.  I can only hope that
my proposition would provide a down-to-earth framework, allowing
"virtual" situations to be dealt with rationally, level-headedly, and
in a consistent manner.

GrimJim
(Jim W. Lai in reality)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:51:34 EDT
From: [e-mail](bruce edwards)
Subject: File 7--Edwards to Lopez

 I'd like to address one point Andy Lopez -- Mr.Badger -- makes in his
response to my critique of his review of Dibbell's Voice article.
(Whew!)  [Cu Digest, #6.21;6.26;6.29]

I had written:

     [...]  I have seen an RL event unfold much like the one Mr.
     Bungle reportedly perpetrated on LamdaMOO.  The
     perpetrator's actions there (child abuse) were not verbal,
     but physical.  This real life Bungle, too, had reasons why
     the community ought not "toad" him, though the toading would
     have been of the banishing, not the annihilating sort (the
     legal processes were already complete).  The community
     involved agonized in much the same way the members of
     LamdaMOO did.  In the end, there was no Wizard to act, and
     there was little resolution, but there was experience to be
     archived.  Had these people the previous experience of the
     players on the MOO at adjudicating communal threat, I
     believe that they would have been able to relate with
     greater precision to their real life dilemma.  This is the
     value of simulation, is it not?

Lopez responds:

     [...]  I also find it ridiculous that Edwards believes
     experience in role playing would help a jury decide on
     whether or not a child molester ought to be punished or not.
     Any weakening of the fundamental difference between
     fantasy/reality or words/actions is exactly what leads to
     the vagaries of the modern justice system. A person can
     fantasize about whatever they wish, but those who commit
     rape and child abuse deserve to be punished.  To attempt to
     impart special significance to fantasies on-line does
     nothing but debase the truth concerning actual acts of
     aggression. True, the use of words can be potent. Witness
     libel. But Edwards should realize that libel has also been
     difficult to prosecute, precisely because the claimant must
     prove actual damages.

 I was perhaps not clear enough above when I parenthesized that, "the
legal processes were already complete."  This molester had been tried,
convicted, and sentenced (not to jail, though).  The problem was
whether -- and if so, how -- to re-context him within his
(sub)community following the crime, or to banish him.  Like the
quandary on LamdaMOO, the folks meeting (and meeting, and meeting)
here found no general agreement.  The only accord reached was that he
be watched around children (no kidding).

 It was to a peripheral member, absurd.  Abuse of children (in
particular) is right out.  I won't go into their deliberations,
besides noting the sentiments and dynamics were *very* much those of
the MOOers.  I believe that some of this mush could have been avoided
if those involved had only the experience of the MOOers.  The
situation on the MOO may have been virtual, but the principles were
heartfelt and needed genuine (not virtual) involvement to resolve.

 My argument (here) was that VR experience can prepare one to handle
RL situations.  It was not about a fundamental difference between
fantasy/reality or words/actions.

------------------------------

Date: 7 Apr 1994 13:42:26 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Andre Bacard)
Subject: File 8--Gilmore Files Clipper FOIA

************************************************************
The following news item appeared in the March 1994 issue of the
CPSR/Portland Newsletter with Editor Erik Nilsson & Copy Editor
Andrea Rodakowski at <[e-mail]>.
************************************************************

           GILMORE FILES FOIA FOR CLIPPER KEY DATABASE

Prominent Cypherpunk and CPSR member John Gilmore has filed a
Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Clipper key
"escrow agents" for the database of Clipper key components.
Releasing the information would effectively give anyone the ability
to decrypt Clipper-encrypted communications.

The escrow agents are the Treasury Department and the National
Institute of Standards and Technology.  While the escrow agents
will be highly motivated to deny Mr. Gilmore's request, Mr. Gilmore
believes that they will have meager grounds to do so, stating on
the Cypherpunks mailing list that,

          There appears to be no FOIA exemption that would
          justify withholding the key escrow databases which
          Treasury and NIST are building.  (The keys are not
          tied to any individual, so individual privacy
          isn't a valid exemption.  The database isn't
          classified.  Etc.)

If the escrow agents claim that the keys are classified, "... they
can't give them out to cops," Gilmore stated.

Possibly, the escrow agents will claim that the keys are
proprietary commercial information of the holder of the Clipper
device.  Or, they might claim that the keys are classified, but law
enforcement agents are able to use the keys in a way that doesn't
give them access to classified information.

However, Mr. Gilmore has doubtless given Clipper proponents a
puzzler.

Thanks to SurfPunk for some of this info.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 17:53:28 GMT
From: Pat Cain <[e-mail]>
Subject: File 9--Arrests of Juvenils in New Zealand for Bomb-making  llegal

Here's an interesting article from last Sunday's paper about some kids
who made bombs from the old `how to make a bomb' files.  One MP is
about to introduce a bill to make possession of these files (which
would cover historically significant documents such as Phrack)
illegal.

This group of (15-17yo) boys ran a bulletin board that was closed down
last year after the police raided them.  I gather that after that the
boys created another BBS, but it was a private one.  They started
experimenting with making bombs.

I think this article, like many other media articles on bulletin
boards, preys on the mainstream fear of technology -- ``the
information could be accessed through school computers''.  So what?  I
can ring a drug dealer or prostitute with a school telephone.
Obviously the modem at school is not managed very well.  Making
possession illegal isn't going to help, it's just going to make such
files more of a novelty.  More kids will know about them, more will
want to have them.  And it will still be just as easy to obtain them
through the Internet, or by calling systems
overseas.  I can only see it forcing local systems underground.

===========================

Headline: Computers give pupils access to bomb recipes
  Writer: Claire Guyan

YOUNGSTERS are using school computers to get access to lethal bombmaking
recipes.

The revelation follows the court apearance last week of two Wellington
teenagers who built a bomb using information from computer bulletin
boards and imported books.

Police said the pair constructed the bomb using a fire estinguisher case
and when it explded, fragments scattered 150m, damaging a school and
church.

No one was hurt in the early morning explosion, but police said the bomb
had the capacity to do a great deal of damage.

The pair have been granted interim name suppression and were recommended
for diversion [community service w/o receiving a criminal record] when
they appeared in the Wellington District Court on Friday.  It was
understood they stumbled on the detailed recipes while flicking through
bulletin board information on their home computers.  The boards can be
accessed simply by using a personal computer with a modem, technology
available to most schools.

Thousands of bulletin boards operated in New Zealand and police said it
was difficult to monitor what information was put on them.  Much of the
offensive material, including DIY bomb instructions and pornography,
came from overseas.

Howick MP Trevor Rogers has a private member's bill before the House
which he hoped would stamp out this kind of problem.  ``Some of this
stuff is unbelievable garbage, how to make bombs, atomic bombs, how to
trash your school ... it's mind-boggling stuff.''  Mr Rogers said the
information could be accessed through school computers.  ``Yes, it's
happening.''

He was confident his Technology and Crimes Reform Bill would halt the
flow of obscene material by making it an offence to possess it.  It
would allow bulletin boards carrying the information to be disconnected.

He expected the bill to have a first reading in May.

Christchurch Papanui High School teacher Craig Seagar said he was sure
students were accessing offensive material through school computers.

``I've heard some of the boys talking.  That's wat their interested in.
It's the challenge of getting it from the computer.  You can guarantee
pupils will try to get into these bulletin boards.''


Reprinted from Sunday Star-Times, 27-Mar-1994, w/o permission.

------------------------------

Date: 5 Apr 94 20:37:22 GMT
From: [e-mail](David Batterson)
Subject: File 10--PRODIGY Forges Ahead With New Features

               PRODIGY Forges Ahead With New Features
                       by David Batterson

     I've tried PRODIGY off and on since it began, and recently got a
comp account so I could take a look at the latest incarnation--the
Windows software version.  The interface looks better than ever, and
PRODIGY staffers are now working on a newer Win version.

     One feature I like about the Win version is the ability to view
news photos online.  These become available quickly online; for
example, users could view photos of the Los Angeles earthquake, and
the Winter Olympics.  The Win version offers sound capability too.

     I'm an American Online (AOL) user, and occasionally there are
problems with network access to AOL.  PRODIGY uses a different
approach--a national distributed network--so it never has any
problems with overloading, even though it has almost three times the
number of users as AOL.

     PRODIGY's network can be expanded to serve tens of millions of
members, according to the company.  Now underway is a test program
for cable delivery of PRODIGY, to permit faster information flow and
a new array of enhancements such as video images.

     There were no chat boards on PRODIGY when I was on, but this is
in the works from what I heard.  There is a larger range of bulletin
boards than ever, though, including travel, food, computer, careers,
pets, seniors, medical, money talk, foreign languages, arts, music
and TV.

     Upcoming on PRODIGY this year is an Online Yellow Pages section,
from NYNEX.  This will incorporate advertising into NYNEX's online
database of 1.7 million listings in New York and New England.  More
daily newspapers are coming on board too, including The Los Angeles
Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsday, and The Tampa
Tribune.

     Other PRODIGY features include online greeting cards, headline
news, QUOTE TRACK investment information, Mobil Travel Guides, Zagat
Guide for restaurants, visits by celebrities (such as Jerry Seinfeld,
Patrick Stewart, Mayim Bialik and Jay Leno), and Internet e-mail
access.

     I was a bit disappointed with the way you have to send/receive
e-mail via Internet.  On AOL, you just click on Compose Mail and type
in an address [such as [e-mail]].  With PRODIGY, you
have to have a second software application called Mail Manager
[$4.95].  Mail Manager works fine, but having it built into the
regular PRODIGY system woudl make more sense to me.

     A useful utility program for PRODIGY users is PRO-UTIL 6.0 from
Royston Development.  This is a communications manager, similar to
those used for CompuServe, DELPHI, and so forth.  It's easy to use,
and well worth having if you become a regular PRODIGY user.

     PRODIGY was launched nationally in September 1990.  Since that
time it has attracted 2,000,000+ users [vs. about 750,000 on AOL].
The company is still a joint venture of IBM and Sears.

     You can try out the PRODIGY service with a free membership kit
and one month's usage ($4.95 shipping & handling fee) by calling
1-800-PRODIGY.  Or for more information, write Prodigy Services
Company, 445 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, NY  10601.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 15:55:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: Stanton McCandlish <[e-mail]>
Subject: File 11--NY bill to make govt. info available online - act NOW!

Just rec'd this, figured it should go out far and wide.  This is
time-sensitive folks!

If anyone can get us the full text of this bill, please do so, and send it
to SEA, TAP, CPSR and other organizations as well.

Don't just talk, DO SOMETHING.  I'm aware of at least 2 civil-liberties-
favoring state bills that have failed just recently, in both cases due to
lack of public input.  Activism got a bill very similar to this one passed
in CA last year, and it can work in NY too.  See ftp.eff.org: /pub/EFF/Issues/
Activism/* for more info on this type of thing.  If the legislation is
available to us, it will be archived at ftp.eff.org: /pub/EFF/Legislation/
Foreign_and_local/NY/, so check periodically.  Those in the NY area, please
spread the work on ny.* newsgroups, local BBSs, apropos mailing lists, etc.


Forwarded message:
From: Reg Neale <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 13:50:24 EDT

At the suggestion of another activist netter, I am writing to you to alert
you to new developments in our effort to get New York State's public
legislative information online. The NY legislature does collect, organize
and maintain computerized legislative information, including text of bills,
member's voting records etc. However, this information is not freely available
to the public. Instead, it is provided to a captive commercial firm which
sells it to special-interest groups, at prices ordinary citizens cannot
afford.
A bill was just introduced in the NY Assembly to make public information
freely and timely available, via "the most-accessible and least-cost
public network" i.e., the Internet. Bill A10035 was referred to the Assembly's
Governmental Operations Committee, where it is certain to die unless there
is a massive input from concerned citizens. Any New Yorkers reading this
should call or write their assemblyperson to urge immediate action on this
bill. It could also be helpful to contact these two individuals:

Assemblyman Samuel Colman, Chairman
Governmental Operations Committee
Room 731 Legislative Office Building
Albany NY 12248
518-455-5118 voice
518-455-5119 fax

David W. Keiper, Commissioner
Legislative Bill Drafting Commission
Room 301 Capitol Building
Albany NY 12247
518-455-7500
CIS 71075,2006
[Internet: [e-mail]]

Voice your support for public access to legislative information. If you
know of anyone who should be involved in this effort, or if you know of
another appropriate place to post this message, please contact me.

Reginald Neale, Sec'y   Citizens for Open Access to Legislation (C.O.A.L.)
716-263-7864 day     716-924-7481 eve

------------------------------

End of Computer Underground Digest #6.32
************************************