The administration made it clear that cryptography would become their very own “Bosnia of telecommunications” (as one staffer put it) … rather than ditching Clipper, they declared it a Federal Data Processing Standard … And they outlined a very porous set of requirements under which the cops might get the keys to your chip.
Predictor: Barlow, John Perry
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for Wired magazine, John Perry Barlow, a co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, writes about the U.S. government and its proposed “Clipper” encryption system: ”On Friday, February 4, the other jackboot dropped. A series of announcements from the administration made it clear that cryptography would become their very own ‘Bosnia of telecommunications’ (as one staffer put it) … rather than ditching Clipper, they declared it a Federal Data Processing Standard, backing that up with an immediate government order for 50,000 Clipper devices. They appointed the National Institutes of Standards and Technology and the Department of Treasury as the ‘trusted’ third parties that would hold the Clipper key pairs … They reaffirmed the export embargo on robust encryption products, admitting for the first time that its purpose was to stifle competition to Clipper. And they outlined a very porous set of requirements under which the cops might get the keys to your chip … They even signaled the impending return of the dread Digital Telephony, an FBI legislative initiative requiring fundamental reengineering of the information infrastructure; providing wiretapping ability to the FBI would then become the paramount design priority.”
Biography:John Perry Barlow helped found the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 1990 with WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) members Mitch Kapor and John Gilmore in direct response to a threat to free speech. Barlow’s was one of the loudest voices in the battle to keep the Internet unfettered while still encouraging that it become a tool available to everyone. (Advocate/Voice of the People.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Jackboots on the Infobahn: Clipper is a Last-Ditch Attempt By the United States, the Last Great Power From the Old Industrial Era, to Establish Imperial Control Over Cyberspace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.04/privacy.barlow_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney