

Biden: Encryption should “permit the government to obtain the plain text” (1991) - declan
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:s.00266:

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declan
To see the full quote, click on the loc.gov linked URL to Biden's bill, then
"text of legislation," then "printer friendly."

You'll see this text: _" It is the sense of Congress that providers of
electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic
communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems
permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and
other communications when appropriately authorized by law."_

Vice President (then Senator) Biden's bill was what led Phil Zimmermann to
publish PGP, as he wrote here in the original 1991 PGP User's Guide:

*"It was this bill that led me to publish PGP electronically for free that year, shortly before the measure was defeated after vigorous protest by civil libertarians and industry groups." [http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html](http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html)

The more things change...

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joshstrange
Since this links to a general page on the bill:

> SEC. 2201. COOPERATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.
> [0]

> It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications
> services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment
> shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the
> plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when
> appropriately authorized by law.

[0] [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/query/F?c102:1:./temp/~c102LGb...](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/query/F?c102:1:./temp/~c102LGbVYJ:e24171):

~~~
declan
There's a reason I linked to the general page of the bill (in addition to
making it clear Biden introduced it in the Senate). That's because Thomas
generates temporary URLs; yours no longer works.

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nathanaldensr
They will just keep trying and trying and trying until finally they get what
they want. Different language, different bills, different Congresses...it
doesn't seem to matter.

~~~
hga
What makes you think that?

It hasn't worked for gun control, and plenty of people (most certainly
including a lot of gun owners) feel just as strongly on this issue.

This was a big thing in the '90s (along with Federal level gun control), it
all failed (like the worst of that Federal level gun control), and
_eventually_ the government stopped controlling encryption as a munition.
What's different this time, besides the currently not very hot in the US GWoT?

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rpdillon
If you're interested in this sort of stuff, I highly recommend Steven Levy's
'Crypto', which documents the rise and fall of the Clipper Chip, as well as
the release of Zimmerman's PGP software amid the crafting of Biden's
legislation. I read it a few months ago and was struck by how relevant it
still is. Little did I know...

