As people get more comfortable with the idea and as people realize that there are going to be a lot of corporations who are going to want to escrow their keys, without regard to the question of Clipper or law enforcement, just so that they can conduct their own kinds of security procedures and guarantee themselves against misuse by their employees in encryption, you’re going to see companies look very closely at the idea of escrowing keys privately.
Predictor: Baker, Stewart
Prediction, in context:As a member of a special panel at a policy debate on the Clipper Chip sponsored in January 1995 by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Stewart Baker was asked to discuss the question, “Do you believe key escrow agents ought to be government institutions, which you know, by their nature can attract distrust?” He replied: ”I don’t think anybody would rule out the idea of trustworthy private organizations doing this. You have to remember that when Clipper was put forward, it was done fairly quickly against a background that required quick action. The likelihood that a private entity would step forward and volunteer to be an escrow agent without any idea of the kinds of liability or litigation that might attract, let alone the publicity, was virtually zero … I think that as people get more comfortable with the idea and as people realize that there are going to be a lot of corporations who are going to want to escrow their keys, without regard to the question of Clipper or law enforcement, just so that they can conduct their own kinds of security procedures and guarantee themselves against misuse by their employees in encryption, you’re going to see companies look very closely at the idea of escrowing keys privately.”
Biography:Stewart Baker was described by The Washington Post (Nov. 20, 1995) as “one of the most techno-literate lawyers around.” Baker’s Washington, D.C., practice covered issues relating to digital commerce, electronic surveillance, encryption, privacy, national security and export controls. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: January 19, 1995
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: Clipper Chip Debate at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Title, headline, chapter name: The Clipper Chip: Should the Government Control the Master Keys to Electronic Commerce?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://swissnet.ai.mit.edu/6805/articles/clipper/ny-debate-jan-19-95.txt
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Beckett, Angela