Woah, I didn't know that Joe Biden was the sponsor of the exact bill that Phil Zimmerman referenced in his essay, “Why I Wrote PGP”. From the OP: “On the othe

Woah, I didn't know that Joe Biden was the sponsor of the exact bill that Phil Zimmerman referenced in his essay, “Why I Wrote PGP”. From the OP: “On the other hand, as a senator in the 1990s, Vice President Joe Biden introduced a bill at the FBI's behest that echoes the bureau's proposal today. Biden's bill said companies should "ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law." (Biden's legislation spurred the public release of PGP, one of the first easy-to-use encryption utilities.)” The bill: S.266 Latest Title: Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Act of 1991 Sponsor: Sen Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [DE] (introduced 1/24/1991) Cosponsors (3) From Zimmerman's essay: “Senate Bill 266, a 1991 omnibus anticrime bill, had an unsettling measure buried in it. If this non-binding resolution had become real law, it would have forced manufacturers of secure communications equipment to insert special "trap doors" in their products, so that the government could read anyone's encrypted messages. It reads, "It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law." It was this bill that led me to publish PGP electronically for free that year, shortly before the measure was defeated after vigorous protest by civil libertarians and industry groups.” http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html In that case, thank you Joe Biden? :)