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> In the US, ITAR could hypothetically be used to make open-sourcing of cryptographic algorithms illegal. Wikipedia has some good info re: export of cryptograp

> In the US, ITAR could hypothetically be used to make open-sourcing of cryptographic algorithms illegal. Wikipedia has some good info re: export of cryptography[0]. In addition, two circuits (Ninth[1] and Sixth[2]) have ruled that source code is protected by the First Amendment. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_th... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernstein_v._United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernstein_v._United_States [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junger_v._Daley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junger_v._Daley

i_am_proteus 7y ago
This case law only applies as long as the algorithm is not classified. As soon as any Original Classification Authority classifies the algorithm, it falls under a new category on the U.S. Munitions List and the government could then restrict its distribution. Obviously, classifying something that has already been open source just makes it more difficult to use and numerous local copies will be retained, but it does make further distribution illegal. This is the only mechanism I can think of by which the US government could kill Signal in its existing open-source form. It's ugly, but not unthinkable.
- floatboth 7y ago
  Signal doesn't have to be distributed from the US though (well, apk for sideloading at least, app stores are US based..) OpenBSD in the 90s used to emphasize that they're from Canada and have strong crypto because of that.