gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) (08/18/86)
This bill, S.2575 is now pending to the Judiciary committee in the Senate. (It was hacked up in subcommittee and then a "new draft" which nobody but the subcommittee has yet seen, was introduced and immediately passed up to the full committee. Looks like shady politics to me.) The bill purports to extend constitutional protection against unreasonable search to electronic storage. However, it also does many other things. It broadens the existing wiretap authorization laws and also allows "tracking devices" (bugs) to be placed on people for up to 48 hours without a court order. Last time I saw it, it also made it illegal to tune in cellular phone calls on your TV (channels 80-83). And it apepars to put legal liability on Usenet hosts which forward mail for other hosts. Note that the current version of the bill (introduced last week) may be better or worse than the above. Robert Horvitz (well!rh) has been covering developments on the Well; net.crypt might be interested in this comment of his: > By the way, we've been told by several sources that the real > pressure to pass the bill as is this session is coming from the > intelligence community. Reason is said to be they want to stifle > the development of consumer-grade encryption, for fear that it would > spread worldwide. This coincides with a remark someone in the > Justice Dept. made to us months ago: "What we dread is someday > getting a wiretap authorization, getting into the channel, and > still not being able to get the information anyway, because it's > hidden behind a wall of noise." Sound like DES all over again? To get a copy of the bill, contact the staff below. If you object, tell them that you want action on the bill delayed for further review. The people who wrote this bill DON'T UNDERSTAND EMAIL. Also, contact your home state Senators and Congressmen. Congressional staff: Ann Harkin, John Podesta 202 224 4242 Steve Metalitz, Ken Mannella 202 224 5617 Judiciary Committee 202 224 5225 ACLU: Jerry Berman, technology/privacy 202 544 1681 Hit them now on it, before they get back to session and try to pass it! -- John Gilmore {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu jgilmore@lll-crg.arpa May the Source be with you!