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They have tried just that:

   FBI Director Louis Freeh is the most outspoken advocate of encryption
   restrictions. He argues that the capability to conduct court-authorized
   electronic surveillance should be built into any technology, including
   powerful encryption software. [1]

   One Freeh proposal is that all users of powerful encryption software be
   asked to turn over their keys to a third party, so that law-enforcement
   officials can gain access to them with a court order.

   Freeh's allies include his boss, Attorney General Janet Reno, and
   legislators including Rep. Gerald B.H. Solomon (R-N.Y.), the retiring
   chairman of the House Rules Committee.

   "Let there be no doubt," Reno wrote congressmen last year. "Without
   encryption safeguards, all Americans will be endangered."
See also law enforcements contention that they are free to invasively check the data on any laptop or phone that crosses the border, etc.

As always, child porn / blah blah blah (while not minimizing my concern for the children involved) is, as always, merely the excuse. This will, as always, be used for harassing people growing pot or civil rights protestors or to help beat hippies.

[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/encryp...




Note that current politicians made similar attempts to ban encryption. The current Vice President did, for example:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10024163-38.html


As has the current administration even. This comes up all the time, from both parties.




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