1 June 1998
Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 09:50:46 -0400 To: cypherpunks@algebra.com From: Will Rodger <rodger@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Freeh, Gates, Barksdale, McNealy to huddle on encryption contols...... The meeting below has been conveniently sandwiched between EPIC's excellent encryption conference June 8 and the Business Software Alliance's CEO Forum June 10. It will doubtless generate plenty of conversation at coffee breaks........ From: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/inwo/0601/320443.html Tech execs will meet with the FBI over crypto By Will Rodger Inter@ctive Week Online June 1, 1998 4:26 AM PDT Tech execs will meet with the FBI over crypto Top executives from some of the world's largest computer hardware and software companies will meet with FBI Director Louis Freeh and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on June 9 to discuss their differences over continuing government limitations over powerful data-scrambling technology. Though a final list of attendees remains in flux, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates, Netscape Communications Corp. (NSCP) CEO James Barksdale, America Online Inc. (AOL) Chairman Steve Case, AT&T Corp. (T) CEO C. Michael Armstrong, Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy and MCI Communications Corp. (MCIC) President Timothy Price are all expected to attend. Officials were careful not to term the meeting a negotiation, but the event marks a watershed in the encryption debate: Never before have top executives from major suppliers of encryption technology met directly with the FBI, their main nemesis in a fight that has dragged on for more than five years in the nation's capital. The issues at stake, however, remain the same. Information technology executives are expected to tell Freeh that their future viability demands strong data-scrambling equipment to keep bank transactions, medical records, children's e-mail and a whole host of other sensitive data secure on the Internet. Freeh, in turn, will argue law enforcement's view of encryption: That encryption's ability to encode data and phone calls threatens wiretapping capabilities that law enforcement desperately wants to preserve. He is expected to repeat his demand that all encryption technologies include technical back doors so that police can read the encoded messages with spare "keys" available through court order or other lawful access. Easy target Industry and civil libertarians have rejected that approach, warning that such an arrangement threatens not only abuse by rogue cops but the creation of key repositories which would prove irresistible targets to commercially and politically motivated spies and saboteurs. Given the United States' dependence on computer networks for finance, medicine, utilities and other services, many security experts have condemned the plan as irresponsible on its face. "Feinstein's agenda is if the CEOs hear only what Louis Freeh has to say, then somehow they'll agree with him," said Peter Harter, policy counsel to Netscape Communications Corp. "I appreciate what she's doing, but I know there's still reluctance on the part of some of the CEOs." Netscape's Barksdale had agreed to attend nonetheless, Harter said. FBI Special Agent Charles Barry Smith said Freeh was eager to meet with the CEOs, but seemed to distance his boss from the encounter. "This is a meeting Sen. Feinstein arranged." Smith said. "We're just participants in this." Industry executives said the meeting is evidently in response to a letter delivered to Feinstein's office last March in which Silicon Valley executives told her they opposed current administration policy on encryption exports as well as FBI attempts to control domestic use of the technology. Prior to the letter, Feinstein had said she had heard nothing from her own state's Silicon Valley on the issue -- a contention that drew anger in high-tech circles when it was made. Feinstein on FBI's side Feinstein last year came out in support of the FBI's demand for controls on encryption worldwide. Current law controls export, but not domestic use, of encryption. Companies and activists alike have increased the pressure on Feinstein and her supporters since. The recently formed Americans for Computer Privacy, for instance, elicited the support of Senate Judiciary members Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in drafting recent legislation that would guarantee Americans' right to use strong encryption at will while lifting nearly all restrictions on export of the technology abroad. At the same time, the bill also penalizes use of encryption in commission of a crime and set up a research center for law enforcement to study ways to attempt to break encrypted messages. Civil libertarians have fought the last two provisions, saying they can only cast legitimate use of encryption technology in an unfavorable light while inviting spy agencies skilled in encryption such as the National Security Agency into domestic affairs. Notably absent from the list of invitees: public interest groups who could argue for civil liberties without being subject to pressures companies may feel from an unfriendly bureaucracy. Little hope for liberalization Activists said they saw little hope for liberalization as a result of the meeting. "The only thing that can come out of this is the industry will cave into FBI pressure and will act contrary to the interests of the American public but in their own interest," Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Barry Steinhardt said. "It's hard to imagine the FBI is going to back off because Bill Gates or Jim Barksdale is in the room." Some industry lobbyists expressed misgivings as well. "They're going to get the scare speech," said one association executive who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. "When the next bomb goes off, they're going to be blamed." Sen. Feinstein's office failed to respond to repeated requests for an interview. Will Rodger Voice: +1 202-408-7027 Washington Bureau Chief Fax: +1 202-789-2036 Inter@ctive Week http://www.interactiveweek.com A Ziff-Davis Publication http://www.zdnn.com PGP 5.0: 584D FD11 3035 0EC2 B35C AB16 D660 293F C7BE 3F62