Back in the 1990s, the Clinton administration tried to snuff out PGP using the very same obscure regulation it’s wielding against Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed now.<\/p>\n
Yes, PGP was (and IIRC, still is<\/i>) a “munition.”<\/a> The regs didn’t change; the fedgov just knew that was a battle it was going to lose so it backed off. Encryption is everywhere and Phil Zimmerman is a free man. But nothing’s new under the Now a new generation of regulators — and a new anti-gun president who has vowed to take covert action against firearms if he can’t get his way in the legislature (whimper, whine) — wants to use absurdly complicated ITAR<\/a> once again to stop the unstoppable.<\/p>\n Question: What’s the outcome going to be in the case of Furiously Frustrated Fedgov vs Cody Wilson<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are lots of aspects to consider here. Not only what will happen to Wilson and DefCad. Not just what will happen to the banned “blueprints” (we already know<\/i> that). <\/p>\n But aspects like: Will the feds back off the their King Canute routine<\/a>? Or will they end up drowning in this rising tide? Will the ATF get into the act? The FBI? Will there be some attempt to control\/surveil 3D printers (e.g. force them to keep records for the feddies, as photocopiers do now)? Will the tech community wield its power — or will the big tech voices keep mum because this is “a gun-culture thing”? What kind of laws will be proposed or passed? Will people get that you can’t stop this any more than the Church could stop Gutenberg’s outrageous information diseminator<\/a>? Will they laugh at the folly of the pols and bureaucrats? Or will the media buffalo them into hysterical fear? Even if they buffalo and legislate their little hearts out for a decade, where do technology, freedom, and the best sort of Bad Attitude take us from here?<\/p>\n Envision a scenario, envision the future …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Back in the 1990s, the Clinton administration tried to snuff out PGP using the very same obscure regulation it’s wielding against Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed now. Yes, PGP was (and IIRC, still is) a “munition.” The regs didn’t change; the fedgov just knew that was a battle it was going to lose so it backed off. Encryption is everywhere and Phil Zimmerman is a free man. But nothing’s new under the sun reeking pall of Mordor. Now a new generation of regulators — and a new anti-gun president who has vowed to take covert action against firearms if he…<\/p>\nsun<\/del> reeking pall of Mordor.<\/p>\n