“Clipper is not about child molesters or the Mafia but about the Internal Revenue Service” … The IRS is going to need a surefire way to track the flow of cyberbucks – and to collect its share.
Predictor: Fancher, Bruce
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for Time Magazine, Philip Elmer-Dewitt writes about Internet entrepreneur Bruce Fancher’s views on the use of the government’s proposed “Clipper Chip” that would allow encrypted messages to be read by government officials: ”‘Clipper is not about child molesters or the Mafia but about the Internal Revenue Service,’ argues Bruce Fancher, proprietor of a New York City Internet service provider called Mindvox. ‘Clipper just doesn’t make sense any other way.’ As more and more commerce takes place on the Internet, contends Fancher, the IRS is going to need a surefire way to track the flow of cyberbucks – and to collect its share.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Time
Title, headline, chapter name: Battle for the Soul of the Internet
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
gopher://insight.mcmaster.ca/00/org/efc/media/time.25jul94
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney