Forwarded message from CPSR
"Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility"

  Petition to Oppose Clipper:
 On April 16, the National Security Agency introduced a new encryption
technique to be used for security and privacy on the NII.  This new
technique, commonly known as the Clipper Chip was designed in secret by
the NSA and remains classified so that its innerworkings are unknown.  
It also has an additional "feature" - the govt gets to keep the keys for
you so that if they want to wiretap you, they can.  This proposal had met
with nearly universal opposition from the public and industry but like the
Energizer Bunny, it still keeps on going.  Last week, many of the world's
top cryptographers and computer security experts wrote to President
Clinton, asking him to withdraw it.

Many other people expressed an interest in signing onto the letter so CPSR
has created a listserv for an Internet Petition to Oppose Clipper.  In
only 48 hours, over 2,400 people have signed on to tell the President what
they think of the Clipper proposal.

If you need more information on clipper ftp/wais/gopher to cpsr.org
/cpsr/privacy/crypto/clipper for a large selection of docs on the proposal.

Dave Banisar  <banisar@WASHOFC.CPSR.ORG>
CPSR Washington Office


[More information about the Clipper proposal is also available on the
 English Server in the "Cyber" directory/folder.
 Geoff Sauer <geoff@english-server.hss.cmu.edu>]

------------------

                Electronic Petition to Oppose Clipper
                      Please Distribute Widely

On January 24, many of the nation's leading experts in cryptography
and computer security wrote President Clinton and asked him to
withdraw the Clipper proposal.

The public response to the letter has been extremely favorable,
including coverage in the New York Times and numerous computer and
security trade magazines.

Many people have expressed interest in adding their names to the
letter.  In  response to these requests, CPSR is organizing an
Internet petition drive to oppose the Clipper proposal.  We will
deliver the signed petition to the White House, complete with the
names of all the people who oppose Clipper.

To sign on to the letter, send a message to:

     Clipper.petition@cpsr.org

with the message "I oppose Clipper" (no quotes)

You will receive a return message confirming your vote.

Please distribute this announcement so that others may also express
their opposition to the Clipper proposal.

CPSR is a membership-based public interest organization.  For
membership information, please email cpsr@cpsr.org.  For more
information about Clipper, please consult the CPSR Internet Library -
FTP/WAIS/Gopher CPSR.ORG /cpsr/privacy/crypto/clipper


=====================================================================

The President
The White House
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President:

     We are writing to you regarding the "Clipper" escrowed encryption
proposal now under consideration by the White House.  We wish to
express our concern about this plan and similar technical standards
that may be proposed for the nation's communications infrastructure.

     The current proposal was developed in secret by federal agencies
primarily concerned about electronic surveillance, not privacy
protection.  Critical aspects of the plan remain classified and thus
beyond public review.

     The private sector and the public have expressed nearly unanimous
opposition to Clipper.  In the formal request for comments conducted
by the Department of Commerce last year, less than a handful of
respondents supported the plan.  Several hundred opposed it.

     If the plan goes forward, commercial firms that hope to develop
new products will face extensive government obstacles. Cryptographers
who wish to develop new privacy enhancing technologies will be
discouraged.  Citizens who anticipate that the progress of technology
will enhance personal privacy will find their expectations
unfulfilled.

     Some have proposed that Clipper be adopted on a voluntary basis
and suggest that other technical approaches will remain viable.  The
government, however, exerts enormous influence in the marketplace, and
the likelihood that competing standards would survive is small.  Few
in the user community believe that the proposal would be truly
voluntary.

 The Clipper proposal should not be adopted.  We believe that if this
proposal and the associated standards go forward, even on a voluntary
basis, privacy protection will be diminished, innovation will be slowed,
government accountability will be lessened, and the openness necessary to
ensure the successful development of the nation's communications
infrastructure will be threatened.

     We respectfully ask the White House to withdraw the Clipper
proposal.