By Donna Woodka, woodka@arpa.net
| Encryption and privacy issues are hot buttons for most
Internet users. While the government wants to limit encryption technology and especially
the export of such technology, electronic commerce demands privacy and security between
customers and the companies they do business with. Internet users are notoriously
libertarian in their views and demand unrestricted privacy, freedom of speech, and
security online. Business Week ran a survey recently showing that 77 percent of
Internet users have never purchased products over the Internet, but 61 percent would be
more willing to do so if privacy of personal information and communications were
protected. The following Web sites promote and provide education on these issues.
Americans for Computer Privacy Americans for Computer Privacy (ACP) is a newly formed, broad-based coalition composed of 28 trade associations and more than 70 companies as well as liberal and conservative organizations. ACP wants to ensure that the privacy of all Americans’ confidential files and communications is preserved and protected. ACP opposes new federal restrictions on the use of encryption products in the U.S., and supports the sale of strong U.S. encryption products to customers around the world. The Web site has a summary of encryption and privacy bills currently in Congress, and offers links to other advocacy sites and research sites for cryptography. The site is also offering live cybercasts of Senate hearings on encryption.
Center for Democracy and Technology The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest organization based in Washington, DC. CDT works to develop and advocate public policies that advance constitutional civil liberties and democratic values in new computer and communications technologies. The site offers the latest news on technology legislation including cryptography and censorship.
Crypto.Com This site, also sponsored by the Center for Democracy and Technology, offers the latest news on encryption policy and links to encryption technology sites. It focuses strictly on cryptography.
Sub Rosa Adam Philipp, a San Diego attorney, created this Web site to provide a link to and promote cryptography and security sites on the Internet. The site also has a nice list of legal resources and Internet starting points.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse The PRC was established in 1992 with funding from the Telecommunications Education Trust, a program of the California Public Utilities Commission. The PRC was originally administered by the Center for Public Interest Law of the University of San Diego School of Law, and is now affiliated with the San Diego non-profit consumer organization, Utility Consumers’ Action Network (UCAN). The site offers a series of fact sheets on everything from eliminating junk mail and spam to protecting credit information and medical records. It’s an excellent resource for protecting your privacy, both online and in the real world.
Phil Karn’s Homepage One of the people most involved in the cryptography controversy, Phil Karn is right here in San Diego. His Web page charts his latest confrontations with the government’s policies on cryptography export. "At the top level, it’s all about personal privacy, freedom of speech, electronic commerce, etc. All the points that are regularly made by my side in the debate," Karn says. "But there’s also a much more philosophical reason that cryptography is so vital. One particularly interesting feature of the human brain is that our thoughts are still absolutely private unless we choose to reveal them. As a result, we humans still enjoy absolute freedom of thought even under the most repressive of governments. Our private thoughts are what make us unique individuals." "People often compose and store their private ideas and thoughts, expressions of their strongest emotions and many other deeply personal things on their computers. Yet the government seems to think it has the absolute right to seize and examine this information whenever it feels like it. Even worse, it demands the ability to silently intercept it in flight over a communications link, even if it’s not actually being communicated to another person. It’s hard to overstate the danger. That’s why cryptography is so important, and why these battles are worth fighting." --------------------------------------- |