🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1e1j01INNu7@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca>, unruh@physics.ubc.ca (William Unruh) writes:
|> donb@igor.tamri.com (Don Baldwin) writes:
|> 
|> >In article <1duqtuINNor2@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca> unruh@physics.ubc.ca (William Unruh)
|> >writes:
|> >>Certainly when they framed the constution, they did not mean "free
|> >>speach" as "You can keep any secret you want to keep". It means that I
|> >>can in public say things and not be brought to court for saying them.
|> 
|> >Why not?  I can send any secret that I want through the physical mails.
|> 
|> Because of legislation, not because of the consititution, ( or perhaps
|> under the "unreasonable search" clause, but then unreasonable does not
|> mean never)

The Constitution is silent on the subject of cyphers.  However, a reasonable
argument barring government restriction on encryption technology could be made
under the protection against forced self-incrimination.

I think Mr. Baldwin's point is you can send a letter full of gibberish,
and not be compelled to translate it for the authorities.  The legislation
you refer to derives directly from the Constitutional provisions barring
unreasonable search&seizure, self-incrimination, etc., etc.  It is clear
that you can keep any information in your head, and not be compelled to
reveal it.  If you keep information on paper or a computer disk, the law
permits the state to seize them as evidence, but it does not compel you
to cooperate with the state in making a case against yourself.

Further, If we're going to discuss what the framers might have meant based
on the technology known at the time, then "unbreakable" codes were freely
available to anyone.  It wasn't until the work done by Friedman
prior to WW-II that there was an effective attack on so-called "di-alphabetic
cyphers", which were known going back (I think) to the Crusades.

If you're going to argue that the same activity sheds Constitutional
protection when it is carried out with new technology, then freedom of
the press is only granted for goose-quill manuscripts and cold-set type
in hand presses.
-- 
  Alan S. Watt
  Yale University			Computing and Information Systems
  Box 2112 Yale Station			(203) 432-6602
  New Haven, CT  06520-2112		Watt-Alan@Yale.Edu