13 May 1998

    From: Patrick Poole <ppoole@fcref.org>
    To: "'jya@pipeline.com'" <jya@pipeline.com>
    Subject: The Encryption Brady Bill
    Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 09:38:02 -0400

    Senate 'Tech-Week' Suffers Setback With E-PRIVACY Bill
    "E-Privacy: The Encryption Brady Bill"

    WASHINGTON, DC-May 12, 1998-The Center for Technology Policy at the Free
    Congress Foundation decried the vast expansion of Federal and
    international law enforcement powers following the unveiling of the
    E-PRIVACY (Encryption Protects the Rights of Individuals from Violation
    in Cyberspace) Senate bill introduced by Senators John Ashcroft, Patrick
    Leahy and Conrad Burns earlier today.

    "While many thought that the Brady Bill would appease the opponents of
    gun control, the drafters of the E-PRIVACY bill think that those of us
    who value our right to communicate privately will be appeased as well,"
    said Lisa S. Dean, Director of the Center for Technology Policy.

    A provision of the E-PRIVACY bill will require all software using
    encryption security features to be exported, to undergo a review and
    technical analysis by the Export Administration. The bill also elevates
    the use of encryption in the commission of any crime as a federal
    offense.

    "The Commerce Department's 15-day 'waiting period' for all exported
    American software products smacks of the ineffective waiting period
    provisions of the Brady Bill," Dean said. "The measures of this bill
    will federalize simple computer crimes, while allowing federal, state
    and local law enforcement agencies to collude with the National Security
    Agency and the CIA to be able to gather evidence and prosecute crimes
    that would typically be heard in lower courts."

    Other erosions of liberty included in the E-PRIVACY bill:

    *	Allows the US to engage in crypto-recovery treaties that would
    allow the Attorney General to assist foreign governments in obtaining
    the keys to your computer.

    *	The creation of a FBI 'NET Center', where US intelligence
    organizations - specifically the National Security Agency - will provide
    the resources and training to federal, state and local law enforcement
    agencies to help crack encrypted programs.

    *	Expands the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
    Court, who conducts all proceedings in absolute secrecy and permanently
    seals all court records, to force phone companies and Internet Service
    Providers (ISP) to assist in conducting covert surveillance and physical
    searches without any probable cause.

    *	Subjects new software products using encryption to an
    eight-member export review panel that includes intelligence agency
    officials and the administration's export chief.

    "E-PRIVACY certainly helps software companies who are eager to expand
    into foreign markets, but ignores the repeated concerns of personal
    privacy advocates. This bill does nothing to help computer scientists,
    such as Professors Dan Bernstein and Peter Junger, who have had to fight
    against the Clinton Administration at every point just to publish
    academic materials concerning cryptography on the Internet. The
    E-PRIVACY bill helps the administration continue its policy of
    inflicting a death of a thousand strokes against the First, Fourth and
    Fifth Amendments," said Dean.

    The Free Congress Foundation is a 20 year-old Washington based think
    tank which teaches people how to be effective in the political process,
    promotes cultural conservatism, and works against government
    encroachment in the individual's right to privacy. For more information,
    contact the Center for Technology Policy at 202/546-3000.