13 April 1999

    To: cryptography@c2.net
    Subject: FYI....
    From: "Perry E. Metzger" <perry@piermont.com>
    Date: 13 Apr 1999 09:56:29 -0400

    Columbia Institute for Tele-Information presents:

    NEW PROPOSALS TO BRIDGE THE ENCRYPTION DEBATE

    Amitai Etzioni
    Professor, George Washington University and
    Founder, Communitarian Movement

    Moderator:
    Richard L. Field, Esq.,
    Chair, Electronic Commerce Payment Committee, ABA

    Respondents:
    David Kelly, Institute for Objectivist Studies
    Perry E. Metzger, Piermont Information Systems, Inc.
    Frank Sudia, Internet Financial PKI Consultant

    History indeed repeats itself.  Nowhere does this seem more true than in
    the perennial encryption debates.  Spurred by the spread of the Internet
    and electronic communications, the various sides have defined their
    positions, declared their differences to be irreconcilable, and dug in for
    the long battle.  At issue are our fundamental social values.  Some see a
    future threatened from the outside -by rogue governments, terrorists,
    criminals, industrial spies, and tax evaders.  Others see the more
    insidious threat as coming from the inside -a "big brother" government
    whose unblinking eye monitors and controls all its citizens.  In addition,
    commercial interests want an environment that is conducive to global
    business.  The cost of a prolonged encryption war of attrition is
    substantial.  Encryption technology is an essential component of
    electronic commerce.  It encodes computer messages and files, keeping
    transmissions and stored records private and secure from unauthorized
    alteration and surveillance.  It also allows parties to use secure "digital
    signatures".  The Administration's current system of encryption export
    controls and its intense global advocacy of government monitoring
    capabilities for encrypted messages has received a mixed response,
    with many countries rejecting aspects of the U.S. position in favor of
    trade and privacy interests.  Professor Etzioni, author of The Limits of
    Privacy, will offer his roadmap to balancing these competing interests.
    Respondents will review his conclusions from the business, technology,
    and individualistic perspectives.

    WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1999, 5:30 PM
    142 Uris Hall  COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
    Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
    Columbia University
    Graduate School of Business
    809 Uris Hall
    New York, NY 10027
    RSVP to: Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
    Fax:	212 932-7816
    Phone:	212 854-4222
    E-mail:	kcarter@claven.gsb.columbia.edu