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Re: lynx-dev US encryption laws: FT latest


From: Kim DeVaughn
Subject: Re: lynx-dev US encryption laws: FT latest
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 03:36:17 -0700

On Sat, Nov 27, 1999, Philip Webb (address@hidden) said:
|
| [ NB the US govt says restrictions will remain for open-source products:
| towards the end of the story ]

| But Mr Reinsch has made it clear that the lifting of restrictions does
| not apply to source code. This may have implications for any open-source
| products' or other international development efforts, and suggests
| development of open-source products will stay outside the US.

Something that is not covered in the new regs (as far as I can tell, in
my attempt to wade through all the legaleese), is the status of products
that do not themselves contain any cryptographic code/algorithms per se,
but may have "hooks" to interface with other products that *are* crypto-
graphic in nature.

Obvious examples of such "adjunct programs" are lynx (interfacing to an
SSL library), mutt (hooks to utilize various versions of pgp/gpg), etc.

I've sent some comments to the Dept of Commerce contact person/address
given in the Draft of the new regs, asking for clarification on the status
of such "adjunct" programs/usage to be added to the regs.  Whether that
will be done or not, is anyone's guess (though I suspect the DoC would
*prefer* to leave that area as "fuzzy" as possible, so they can try and
intimidate developers of such applications into NOT providing such inter-
faces, as I do not believe for a moment that the US really *wants* crypto
regs *actually* relaxed, or crypto usage to proliferate any more than can
be helped).

We shall see ...

/kim

============================================================================
"We create the government that screws you, and then you're supposed to thank
 us for protecting you from it."   --Congressman Vin Weber (R-Minn)

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