FC: DOJ says Bernstein encryption case is moot, should be dismissed

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Earlier Politech message:

"Bernstein can post source code, say Feds, from Reuters"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-00950.html

---

> PRESS RELEASE
>
> Contact: Daniel J. Bernstein, press-20021018 () box cr yp to
>
>
> GOVERNMENT BACKS AWAY FROM CRYPTO REGULATIONS
>
> San Francisco, 18 October 2002 - The government today told a federal
> court that several portions of the current encryption regulations would
> not be enforced.
>
> The regulations are being challenged by Daniel J. Bernstein, a professor
> of mathematics, statistics, and computer science at the University of
> Illinois at Chicago. Bernstein's lawsuit led to four court decisions
> against the constitutionality of the government's previous regulations.
>
> To comply with the current regulations, cryptographers must send
> encryption software to the National Security Agency before showing the
> software to foreigners. They must also wait for government approval if
> source code for the software is not publicly available.
>
> Department of Justice attorney Tony Coppolino told the court that the
> government would not enforce the regulations against cryptographers
> working together at conferences. He also told the court that the
> government would treat ``assembly language'' as source code.
>
> Chief Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the United States District Court for
> the Northern District of California will take the next action in the
> case. Observers expect Patel to rely on the government's promises and
> dismiss Bernstein's case without deciding the constitutionality of the
> current regulations.
>
> ``I'm trying to help protect the Internet against bad guys,'' Bernstein
> said in a statement. ``I hope it's true that the government is going to
> stop interfering in my work.''
>
> -30-




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