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From: wcs@anchor.ho.att.com (Bill Stewart +1-908-949-0705)
Subject: Re: Is it illegal to transmit encrypted data?
Organization: Mary Ellen Carter Salvage Crew
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1993 01:14:04 GMT
Message-ID: <WCS.93Apr26201404@rainier.ATT.COM>
In-Reply-To: georgel@NeoSoft.com's message of Mon, 26 Apr 1993 16:03:43 GMT
References: <C63Ly7.GBx@sugar.neosoft.com>
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In article <C63Ly7.GBx@sugar.neosoft.com> georgel@NeoSoft.com (George Livsey) writes:
      I am aware of the restrictions imposed by the munitions act
   on the export of cryptographic technology, however, is it illegal to
   transmit encrypted data from the U.S. to another country?  If so,
   then which laws apply to this situation?

From the US law perspective, unless you're engaging in illegal speech,
it's not illegal to use encryption.  Yet.  The NSA is allowed to try
to listen, but you're not obligated to make it easy for them.  Yet.
The other country may have more repressive laws about that;
I gather France's bureaucracy wants to know what you're saying, 
and in the old Soviet Union, they didn't need laws to make things illegal :-(

(paranoia follows, for those of you who want to play it safe :-)
The fact that the NSA is listening may affect your willingness to use
wimpy crypto technologies, but it may also affect your willingness to
use technologies that violate RSA's patents, e.g. if you use PGP, the
NSA may tell RSA that you're doing so, and if the Secret Service catches on,
they may decide that the mere fact that RSA hasn't filed a lawsuit
against you doesn't mean that you don't deserve to have your computer
confiscated for possible patent violation, munitions law violation,
espionage, money laundering, drug importation, and creatin' a disturbance,
and then not give it back because you *did* violate the patent even
though they had to drop all the other charges, unlike that nasty Steve
Jackson who had the gall not to be guilty of *anything*.
--
#				Pray for peace;      Bill
# Bill Stewart 1-908-949-0705 wcs@anchor.att.com AT&T Bell Labs 4M312 Holmdel NJ
#	              No, I'm *from* New Jersey, I only *work* in cyberspace....
# White House Commect Line 1-202-456-1111  fax 1-202-456-2461
