Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version VT1.00C 11/1/84; site vortex.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!vortex!lauren
From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein)
Newsgroups: net.crypt
Subject: Re: encrypted mail
Message-ID: <677@vortex.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 2-Jun-85 17:24:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: vortex.677
Posted: Sun Jun  2 17:24:51 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Jun-85 01:21:21 EDT
References: <150@harvard.ARPA>
Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles
Lines: 31

Unfortunately, every lawyer you ask about such things tells
you something different.  There are clearly differences between
common-carrier and non-common-carrier situations, but much of this
new technology doesn't fall into either sitaution too clearly, and
as such the possibility of conflicting court decisions on different
cases seems quite likely.  As such, using care before getting
too involved in such situations seems like a prudent course.

An analogy might relate to so-called "mail drops."  There have been
cases of such drops used for illegal purposes, where the people
running them just claimed, "gee, we didn't know what was in the mail!"
Some of these drops have found themselves in trouble for refusing
to take responsibility in cases of illicit traffic.  Even common
carriers can be forced to control messages -- note what happens
with the post office when mail fraud is suspected -- mail can 
be intercepted and apparently even opened under court order.

The point here is that once you allow encrypted mail through your
system, you may be accepting an unknown amount of responsibility
for anything illicit that occurs via that traffic.  At least if
it's in the clear you can take whatever action legally required
to block or return offending traffic.  But if its encrypted you
can't do that, and my guess is that some courts would view this
as "reckless" behavior (aiding in the commission of a crime or
some such).  

Since so much of this technology is so new, it isn't at all certain
how it'll all come out.  But certainly using reasonable care
to consider the ramifications would seem in order.

--Lauren--