The Position in Germany and Ireland on GAK

[Brian Gladman]

In his post on 24th May, Simon Watkin implied that comments on this list
from myself and others about the positions of the German and Irish
governments in respect of Government Access to Keys (GAK) were misleading.
In particular he said:

> *** The bigger question of access to keys for wider law enforcement
purposes remains open in Ireland.

and

> ***  The bigger question of access to keys for wider law enforcement
purposes remains open in Germany too.

What Simon says here is correct but only trivially so.  All governments
reserve the right to change their minds about policy issues at some point in
the future so ***any statement*** that says that a policy position 'remains
open' is always trivially true.  What is important, therefore, is not
whether a policy position remains open but rather what the policy position
actually is.

Over the last week I have been in contact senior officials to ensure that I
properly understand the policy positions of the German and Irish
governments.

The position on Ireland is outstanding but I now have a definitive position
from senior officials in Germany:

1. The German government does not consider that access to keys is necessary
for law enforcement purposes.

2. The German government has NO plans for ANY legislation that would provide
for law enforcement access to keys.

3. The German government policy is one of encouraging the development and
use of open source encryption products in support of the safety, security
and privacy of citizens and businesses located in Germany.

In respect of Ireland I have an informal indication that their position is
close to that of Germany but I am awaiting a formal exchange with Irish
oficials to confirm this.  I will post to this list again when I have
further information here.

The plain fact is that the UK government is isolated in believing that GAK
is necessary for law enforcement purposes.  It is hence not surprising that
they have been unable to provide any concrete evidence to justify such
measures.  In respect of Law Enforcement there is nothing significant that
GAK will offer beyond decryption notices without GAK but the damage involved
will be significant in that our rights as honest citizens will be seriously
curtailed and the UK's e-commerce aspirations will suffer.

   Brian