Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!samsung!uunet!world!eff!mnemonic
From: mnemonic@eff.org (Mike Godwin)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: "Bad" backups
Message-ID: <1990Dec13.155816.5401@eff.org>
Date: 13 Dec 90 15:58:16 GMT
References: <5758@catfish10.UUCP> <1990Dec13.045324.2811@eff.org> <5081@trantor.harris-atd.com>
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Lines: 25

In article <5081@trantor.harris-atd.com> hnewstro@x102c.ess.harris.com (Harvey Newstrom) writes:
>
>What about keeping data encrypted with a secret password?  It seems like
>one could ``take the fifth'' and refuse to divulge the password on the
>grounds that it might incriminate.

If you normally encrypt your data, no problem. If you encrypt
it in order to obstruct an investigation, well, that is a problem.

The nature of current Fifth Amendment law is such that you
probably would be compelled to turn over the password *unless*
the very act of turning it over tended to incriminate you. This
is a particularly tricky area of the law right now, thanks to the
Rehnquist Court.


--Mike



-- 
Mike Godwin, (617) 864-0665 |"If the doors of perception were cleansed
mnemonic@eff.org            | every thing would appear to man as it is,
Electronic Frontier         | infinite."
Foundation                  |                 --Blake