Clipper/DigTel Hearings from mech () eff org

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

Subject: Upcoming Congressional Hearings on Clipper and Digital Telephony
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Congressional hearings on the Administration's Clipper/Skipjack initiative,
and the FBI's draft Digital Telephony surveillance bill, and their
implications for privacy and First Amendment rights, are to be held
April 27 and May 3, 1994.


Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), of the Senate Judiciary's Technology and the Law
Subcommittee, has expressed skepticism of the Clipper encryption scheme,
and has called for hearings to examine the problems of this proposal and its
implementation.  This effort is due in part to all of you who played a
vital role by responding to EFF's grassroots campaign to raise fundamental
questions about security and free speech issues in relation to the White
House proposal.


The Senate hearing will be held on April 27, 1994, 9:30am EDT, Hart
Building Rm. 216, and should feature testimony from the Digital Security
and Privacy Working Group (a broad coalition of industry and public
interest organizations, including EFF), Trusted Information Systems' Steve
Walker, Whitfield Diffie of Sun Microsystems, a representative of the
Justice Dept. (possibly Atty. Gen. Janet Reno), NSA Director Adm. Mike
McConnell, and Ray Kammer of NIST.


For more information, contact Beryl Howell at the Senate Judiciary
Committee: +1 202 224 3406 (voice), +1 202 224 9516 (fax)
Note: this is the full Committee's fax, so address faxes to "Berly Howell,
Technology and the Law Subcommittee" or delivery may be delayed.




Following the Senate Hearings, the House Science, Space and Technology
Subcommittee on Technology, Evironment and Aviation will be holding a
hearing to address related civil liberties issues of both the Clipper
scheme and the FBI "Digital Telephony" proposal, which so far remains
unsponsored. The hearing will be chaired by Rep. Tim Valentine (D-NC), and
is scheduled for May 3, 1994, 1pm EDT, Rayburn Building Rm. 2318.  Witnesses
will include Ray Kammer of NIST, NSA's Clint Brooks, representatives from
industry in a panel that will include USTA and TIA, expert witnesses
Dorothy Denning and David Farber, and EFF's Jerry Berman on behalf of
DPSWG.  FBI appears not to be making a showing.


The House hearing is being held "to review the Administration's policies
and legislative proposals dealing with electronic survellance, privacy
and security, ...the adequacy of the Computer Security Act in protecting
goverment computer systems", and "the Administration's proposed Digital
Telephony legislation and decision to promulgate a voluntary federal
encryption standard".


Futher information can be provided by Tony Clark of the Subcommittee at
+1 202 225 8115 (voice), +1 202 225 7815 (fax)