I don’t think the country’s going to tolerate the idea that we’re going to make it illegal to have encryption the government doesn’t have keys to. And, by the way, there are still another 180 countries on the Net. Terrorists could move to the Cayman Islands and do all their work from there. We are a global village. We have to think about new rules for a new context.
Predictor: Gingrich, Newt
Prediction, in context:For a 1995 article for Wired magazine, Esther Dyson interviews U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich at his House office about the future of the Internet. Dyson quotes Gingrich saying: ”I don’t think the country’s going to tolerate the idea that we’re going to make it illegal to have encryption the government doesn’t have keys to. And, by the way, there are still another 180 countries on the Net. Terrorists could move to the Cayman Islands and do all their work from there. We are a global village. We have to think about new rules for a new context.”
Biography:Newt Gingrich was a U.S. Congressman and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who was known to be so tech-savvy that Wired magazine ran stories on his tech policy positions. He opposed Senator Exon’s controversial Communications Decency Act. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: May 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Crime/Fraud/Terrorism
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Friend or Foe: Newt Gingrich Talks the Talk About Being a Revolutionary. And He Walks the Walk by Ramming Through the Most Radical Political Agenda Since the New Deal. So Why Does He Still Leave Us Feeling Uncomfortable?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.08/newt_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney