Why "carnivore" type systems can't be (entirely) open source

[Owen Lewis]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Gladman" <brg@gladman.plus.com>
To: <ukcrypto@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
Sent: 07 February 2001 16:05
Subject: Re: Why "carnivore" type systems can't be (entirely) open source


> What I might also have mentioned is that although we found many cases of
> illegal export we could not find a single example of a prosecution under
> these laws.   The UK authorities were given the report which contained a
> full list of real exports that had been made by UK companies. We made all
> the evidence of illegal exports available and yet no prosecutions
followed.
>
> Our conclusion was that these laws were really defunct but that it suited
> the UK government's purpose to leave them on the books so that they could
> exert 'behind the scenes' pressure on companies where they felt the need
to
> do so.

I can do no more than assure you that they are not defunct, as  my dealings
with DTI leave me beyond doubt. The reasons why your 'incitement to
prosecute' failed to produce a peceptible reaction, I leave to your
conjecture. There are too many unknowns in your report for me to comment
further.

Owen