L LUCERO 3 LITERARY 120

The Internet is a powerful tool that connects people globally and provides opportunities for communication, business, and education. However, the government should not interfere with regulations and controls. The Quentin administration wants the ability to read all computer communications, which raises concerns about privacy and the competitiveness of U.S. software companies. The government argues that this is necessary for security, but it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. American software companies are being asked to provide decryption keys, while European companies are not. This could lead to a preference for non-American encryption programs. The Internet provides a great opportunity to our country, in part, by representing the most inviting form of communication ever developed. It draws people together from all corners of the globe to share and communicate on an unprecedented level and brings all branches of government closer to the public that they serve. The Internet allows small businesses to reach out across the globe and conquer the distances between them and potential customers. Individuals can view merchandise and make purchases without leaving home. The Internet also holds great promise for great education. Students rural, urban, and suburban are increasingly able to access a wealth of information with their fingertips that was previously beyond their reach. In order to guarantee that the United States meets the challenge of this new means of commerce, communication, and education, government must carefully not interfere. We should not harness the Internet with a confusing array of regulations and controls. Yet, the Quentin administration is trying to do just that. The Quentin administration would like the federal government to have the capability to read any international or domestic computer communications. The FBI wants access to decode, digest, and discuss financial transactions, personal emails, and proprietary information sent abroad, all in the name of international security. To accomplish this, President Clinton would like government agencies to have the keys for decoding all exported U.S. software and Internet communications. This proposed policy raises obvious concerns about Americans' privacy in addition to tampering with the competitive advantage that our U.S. software companies currently enjoy in the world in encryption technology. Not only would Big Brother be looming over the shoulders of international cyber-surfers, but the administration threatens to render our state-of-the-art computer software engineers obsolete and unemployed. There is a concern that the Internet could be used to commit crimes and that advanced encryption could disguise such activity. However, we do not provide the government with phone jacks outside our homes for unlimited wiretaps. Why, then, should we grant government the Orwellian capability to listen at will and in real time to our communications across the web? The protections of the Fourth Amendment are clear. The right to protect from unlawful searches is an indivisible American value. Two hundred years of court decisions have stood in defense of fundamental rights. The state's interest in effective crime fighting should never vitiate the Citizens' Bill of Rights. The President has proposed that American software companies supply the government with decryption keys to high-level encryption programs. Yet, European software producers are free to produce computer and encryption codes of all levels of security without providing keys to any government authority. Purchasers of encryption software value security above all else. These buyers will ultimately choose airtight encryption programs that will not be American-made programs to which the U.S. government maintains keys.