[Cryptography] EFF amicus brief in support of Apple

[John Levine]

>https://www.apple.com/pr/pdf/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation_and_46_technologists_researchers_and_cryptographers.pdf
>
>I think that most people here will find this particular brief to be extremely relevant, as it argues strongly the case
>that Apple's First Amendment right includes:
>
>* the right to decide what code it wants to write (and which code it REFUSES to write); and
>* the right to choose under what conditions to electronically sign documents & code with its own private crypto key
>
>Terrific job, EFF!

I read a comment (which of course I cannot find now) saying that it
was a bad idea for Apple to make 1st amendment arguments because its
other arguments were stronger.

But the other arguments all reduce to the same thing, that the FBI
can't use the All Writs Act because the Congress has never passed a
law that says they can do so.  The Congress could easily in this
political environment pass such a law, which voids that line of
defense.  If the court goes for the 1st amendment argument, that's the
end, no law can change it.

Having said all that, we crypto weenies still have a serious public
relations problem: way too many people don't understand or don't
believe the point that it's not realistic to create a limited back
door, and no amount of effort will change the mathematics.

R's,
John