********* From: "Bass, Kenneth C., III" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: Response to the Maginot Line of Encryption Falls Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 11:17:41 -0500 I don't think the significance of the French decision can be minimized. As the traditional "hard-line foe" on private use of encryption, this new decision represents a 180 degree turn on the geopolitical stage. Coupled with what I hear is a Danish retreat on the Wassenar "agreement," I see the beginning of the end here. Ken ******** From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 10:58:23 -0500 To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re:FC: Response to the Maginot Line of Encryption Falls Marc's analysis has a lot of truth in it, but I'd add some nuance. The European Commission has no real national security or police function, so it certainly was hostile to the whole French policy. The role of Germany is less black-and-white. I'm sure Marc has lots of friends and allies in the German government who have told him all the things they did to undercut French policy. But my experience on this issue is that *every* side in the debate has friends in the German government. It's as riven as a government can be. In the end, both in France and in Germany, the liberals won out. In France, I would not underestimate the romantic attraction that high-tech has for French policymakers. They like to see themselves at the forefront of technological change -- hence the massive French government investments in things like nuclear power and the Concorde. There were a lot of French officials who just hated being condescended to as clueless by the Internet community. Marc's also right that I thought the French would be a tougher nut to crack, and that the US and the UK could make common cause with France to push TTP policies. I wasn't alone. That was the underlying assumption of the McCain-Kerrey compromise proposal and of the UK law that is still wending its way through Blair's government. Now, without an aggressive French regulatory approach, these efforts to achieve market dominance for TTP systems using governmental "body English" are unlikely to succeed, although they will certainly add to the cost of being a certification authority. Stewart Baker Steptoe & Johnson LLP 202.429.6413 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Baker & Hurst, "The Limits of Trust -- Governments, Cryptography, and Electronic Commerce" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9041106359 RFC822.TXT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology To subscribe: send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with this text: subscribe politech More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------
