Export restrictions ruled unconstitutional

[Ka-Ping Yee]

You may have heard this exciting news already, but i wanted to
make sure you got it!

Daniel Bernstein won his case:

    http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-36217,00.html?st.ne.lh..ni

It appears that the decision implies that source code ought to be
treated like free speech.  It doesn't seem to affect binaries, so
it may be the case that the only way to export software with strong
security is to open the source.


!ping


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Math professor wins landmark crypto ruling 
By Courtney Macavinta
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 6, 1999, 4:25 p.m. PT 

update U.S. export limits on encryption are unconstitutional, the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a precedent-setting decision
today.

In a 2-to-1 vote, a federal panel affirmed U.S. District Judge Marilyn
Patel's 1997 landmark ruling in Daniel Bernstein vs. the Justice
Department. That decision states that software source code is a
language, and therefore the export controls violate the University of
Illinois math professor's First Amendment right.

[...]
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