Spoof Article on Crypto Liberties

Article 25776 of talk.politics.crypto:
Path: ai-lab!kill-9.ai.mit.edu!douzzer
From: C-upi@clari.net (UPI)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.crypto,alt.cypherpunks,sci.crypt,alt.privacy,comp.privacy,soc.rights.human,alt.society.civil-liberty,alt.politics.org.fbi
Subject: Student Arrested on Encryption Charge
Date: 27 Sep 1997 21:23:52 GMT
Organization: Copyright 1998 by United Press International
Lines: 57
Message-ID: <60jth8$jgm$1@entertainment-tonight.ai.mit.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rbala.access1.nyc.i-2000.net
Keywords: US government, legal, cryptography, police
Location: San Francisco
Threadword: cryptography
Originator: douzzer@kill-9.ai.mit.edu
Xref: ai-lab talk.politics.crypto:25776 alt.cypherpunks:824 sci.crypt:62414 alt.privacy:45087 comp.privacy:366 soc.rights.human:63239 alt.society.civil-liberty:70357 alt.politics.org.fbi:4276


	San Francisco, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- An undergraduate at UC
Berkeley is facing up to 2 years in a federal prison and a $100,000
fine, after federal authorities traced ``improperly encrypted
messages'' back to his school computer account.
	According to Frank Hicks, a spokesman at the San Francisco
bureau of the FBI, ``Mr. Schroeder knowingly used an old version of
the popular `PGP' encryption program, which he knew to not comply with
the directives of the Secure Networking Act of 1997.  In bringing this
case, the FBI affirms its committment to protect the interests of law
enforcement in its legitimate activities.''
	Mr. (Phil) Schroeder is currently in federal custody, and will
appear before a federal magistrate Monday for bail proceedings.
	Schroeder, 19, is a sophomore at the University of
California's Berkeley campus.  According to school officials, he
transferred there from the University of Tuebingen in Germany in the
fall of last year, and is a physics major.  He is a German citizen.
The messages at issue were sent to Germany, though it has not been
revealed who the precise recipient or recipients were, or what the
contents of the messages are believed to be.
	Hicks added that Schroeder is not accused of any wrongdoing
beyond the improper use of encryption.  ``There is no indication
that the suspect has been involved in any other criminal activity,''
he said.
	The Secure Networking Act of 1997 was passed the day before
Christmas recess in late December.  A broad coalition of civil rights
groups, corporations, and professional organizations, have filed
lawsuits in multiple federal courts seeking to enjoin enforcement of
the Act, which is widely felt to be unconstitutional.
	The Act requires that any message sent over a public network
or through a common carrier, ``permit immediate decryption upon
receipt of decryption information by an authorized party without the
knowledge or cooperation of the person using such encryption
product.''  This means, in short, that any device or software which
encrypts (scrambles) information, must automatically supply the
descrambling ``key'' to a regional repository, from which it is
forwarded to the central repository at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
	The Secure Networking Act equates improper use of encryption
with federal obstruction of justice, which is a felony.
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                   C O P Y R I G H T * R E M I N D E R  

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