Judges in the government's appeal of Daniel Bernstein's high-profile encryption case initially seem sympathetic toward the University of Chicago professor.
Government attorneys are appealing a lower court decision holding that the restrictions--which tightly control the export of software that codes or decodes messages--violate constitutional guarantees to free speech. A Justice Department attorney argued that the laws regulate functional products that encrypt data, not ideas about encryption. But the three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals appeared skeptical.
"That's just words," responded Betty Fletcher, a second judge.
Government regulations treat encryption products as potential weapons and require a license before they may be taken outside the United States. In addition to regulating computer code, the laws control the giving of "technical assistance" to foreigners. Daniel Bernstein, a math professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, sued the government in early 1995 after spending nearly three years trying to get such a license in order to publish his encryption program, dubbed "Snuffle."
"Except on the Internet," Nelson interrupted.
The gripe hasn't been lost on some lawmakers, who are pushing legislation to relax export laws. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-California) is using the case to renew attention to the Security and Freedom through Encryption Act, a bill she is cosponsoring. It enjoys the support of more than 250 House members.