Reprinted from Dr. Dobb's Journal, Number 67, May 1982.  My apologies for
the length, but I think this is something we should all see.

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			Prior Censorship
			by John Gilmore

	The (former) Deputy Director of the CIA, Admiral Bobby Inman, announced
on January 8th (San Jose Mercury News, 1/9/1982, page F1) that the Adminis-
tration would seek passage of technical censorship laws unless the scientific
community submits to "voluntary censorship".  In recent years the government
has attempted to censor cryptographic research and nuclear physics.  This new
attempt includes the field of computer hardware and software, among others.

	What the CIA wants is called "prior censorship".  It means that the CIA
reads any article submitted for publication, and decides whether it should be
printed.  The readers of the technical journals never know which articles have
been rejected; they simply disappear.

	Our Constitution and legal system were designed to make it hard to
impose this kind of tyranny without public consent, so the CIA is attempting
to get cooperation through threats like the one cited above rather than through
legal means.  Our best defense agains this is to immediately make a strong
public stand against the attempt.

	But why should we care?  The National Security Agency's voluntary
review system for cryptographic papers has reviewed 25 papers so far, and
passed them all (or so they say).  And there IS some risk that American
advances in technology can be used "against us" by other governments.

	I think we should care because information is a valuable resource to
us.  When the CIA censors reports on new research and development because they
might reach foreign ears, they also withhold the information from us, the
American technical community.  Imagine where microcomputers would be today if
the knowledge gained by the large-computer field had been withheld from
publication - we'd still be diddling bits in 4004's, if indeed LSI had ever
been invented.  The explosive growth of the computer industry has been fueled
by the rapid dissemination of new information; we censor that information at
our peril.

	Besides, our best defense against foreign domination in technical
fields is to do a lot of research here in the U.S.  If the prerequisite infor-
mation is not available, abd if the results of the research cannot be released,
much of the incentive for individuals and companies to do new research simply
disappears.

	There is also the argument that we, the public, should have at least
as much information as our government has, to protect us against abuses of
power.  The Federal Data Encryption Standard is a good example.  The original
standard specified a 128-bit key, but the National Security Agency intervened
and had it shortened to 56 bits.  The original length provided security against
everyone, including the NSA; the new length allows the NSA (and anyone else
with Cray-sized computers dedicated to decryption) to read anything sent in the
code.  This deception was revealed in computer trade journals, and the Data
Encryption Standard has been widely discounted because of it;  but how much of
this would have been revealed if the CIA was in charge of censoring technical
publications?

	What can YOU do about this?  First, look in your White Pages under
"United States Government" for the nearest Federal Information Center.  Call
them and they'll tell who your Representative and Senators are, and their
addresses.  Then, write a letter briefly explaining the situation and your
viewpoint.  Send copies to your Congresspeople, and to your favorite technical
publications.  Indicate on the letter who is getting copies.  Put messages into
computer bulletin boards and electronic mail systems - let your friends and co-
workers know.  Xerox this page and post it at work.  If you're active in a
technical society, introduce a resolution that prohibits external censorship
of its publications.  Get it incorporated into the by-laws if possible;  make
it hard for ANY individual or agency to pressure your organization's manage-
ment, by making the will of the membership clear.

	If you value your right to know the latest technical information - act
now.  Next month may be too late.



John Gilmore works as an independent consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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