IP: UK -- HOW THE NEW E-COMMERCE BILL COULD SEND JACK STRAWTO JAIL

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

--
Caspar Bowden                    http://www.fipr.org
Director, Foundation for Information Policy Research
Tel: +44(0)171 354 2333      Fax: +44(0)171 827 6534

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ukcrypto () maillist ox ac uk
[mailto:owner-ukcrypto () maillist ox ac uk] On Behalf Of Tom Loosemore
Sent: 26 September 1999 03:00
To: press () stand org uk
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: HOW THE NEW E-COMMERCE BILL COULD SEND JACK
STRAWTO JAIL


         HOW THE NEW E-COMMERCE BILL COULD SEND JACK STRAW TO JAIL

         At the bottom of this email you will find the text of a letter
         sent to Home Secretary Jack Straw MP by Malcolm Hutty, a
         volunteer from the e-campaign group STAND.org.uk

         It's no ordinary letter.

         Indeed, should the Government's E-Commerce Bill reach the
         statute book unamended, the mere receipt of a similar
         missive could see the Home Secretary liable to a sentence
         of two years in jail.

         How? Why?

         The letter explains all, as does the STAND.org.uk Website at
         http://www.stand.org.uk



         >> >> ABOUT STAND.org.uk

         Created by around 20 volunteers from the UK new media
         industry, the STAND.org.uk e-campaign (http://www.stand.org.uk)
         aims to focus MPs' attention on widespread public discontent
         over the Government's proposed legislation controlling
         electronic commerce.

         To date over 5,400 UK Net users have promised to educate and
         inform their MP about encryption and digital signatures, many by
         publishing their "@doption" certificates on their personal
         Websites. All but a handful of MPs have now been "@dopted" by
         one or more concerned constituents.

         STAND's innovative e-campaign has received numerous awards and
         commendations, including the 1999 ^ENew Statesman New Media
         Advocacy Award and New Media Age magazine's Special Award
         For Innovation.



         >> >>  CONTACT DETAILS FOR STAND.ORG.UK

         Stefan Magdalinski / Tom Loosemore
         Tel: 07931 376 142
         Fax: 0171 681 2057
         email: mps () stand org uk



         >>>> TEXT OF LETTER SENT TO JACK STRAW BY MR MALCOLM HUTTY


         Dear Mr Straw,

         How the E-commerce Bill could send YOU to jail

         Please find at the end of the letter a confession to a
         crime, which has been affirmed by Statutory Declaration.
         The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has been
         informed that you are in possession of this information.

         You will not be able to understand the confession, because
         the words have been scrambled using a strong cryptographic key.
         This key was created in your name and has been registered
         on international public key servers.

         The police may come and demand that you supply the key required
         to make this message intelligible. If you fail to do so you
         would be committing an offence under the E-Commerce Bill
         rendering you liable to imprisonment for up to 2 years.

         The fact that you don't possess this key won't help you
         unless you can prove that you don't have it. I wish you well
         in proving that it isn't hidden away on a disk in your
         secretary's home, or squirreled away on the Internet somewhere.
         We might have sent it to you last week; but according to the
         Bill, the police won't have to prove you ever had it at all.

         Even if you can prove that you don't have it you would
         STILL be liable for imprisonment unless you give information to
         the police that enables them to decrypt the key. Unfortunately
         for you this is impossible, because we've destroyed all copies
         of the key in our possession.

         If the police ask you keep the demand to hand over the key
         secret, telling anyone would render you liable to 5 years
         in jail.

         So you couldn't complain - or explain your predicament - to the
         PM or Home Secretary, to the Chief Whip or a journalist, or
         even to another policeman.

         Happily for all of us, the E-Commerce Bill has not yet been
         enacted by Parliament, so we have not in fact set you up for
         jail time. The Bill will be introduced in the coming session.
         I hope this exercise has demonstrated some of the drafting
         flaws in the Bill as it stands - copies of which are available
         from the DTI.

         I hope we have also demonstrated that it is not the
         perpetrators of crime who would suffer under these draconian
         new powers, but innocent parties who are in receipt of
         communications from miscreants. This is why such sober
         organisations as BT, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft have
         publicly criticised the Bill at each stage of its development.

         I trust that when the Bill reaches the House we can rely on your
         most careful scrutiny. Further analysis is available on our
         web site at: http://www.stand.org.uk/

         I am, Sir, Your most obedient servant,

          Malcolm Hutty

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