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From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein)
Newsgroups: net.news.stargate
Subject: Re: Need for Stargate screening?
Message-ID: <508@vortex.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 18-Jan-85 15:53:45 EST
Article-I.D.: vortex.508
Posted: Fri Jan 18 15:53:45 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Jan-85 01:17:44 EST
References: <4946@utzoo.UUCP>
Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles
Lines: 23

Actually, the new data encoding/decoding system that would be used
in a real service (as opposed to the older equipment being used
in the current experiment) will already be providing a form
of encryption.  Encryption, unfortunately, does not alter the
fact of useless, repetitive, libelous, or illegal (e.g. credit
card numbers) postings that could still appear without screening.

In other words, the fact that you've encrypted a libelous message
before sending it out to N thousand people who can decrypt it
doesn't change the fact that the message was sent.  All that
encryption does is protect against unknowing people accidently
stumbling across something they might find offensive.  This
might be adequate in net.jokes in the current network (though
I doubt if it would stand up if tested) but it is certainly not
of any significant value in a national/international broadcast
situation, at least not in the context under discussion right now.

If a newspaper published a list of stolen credit card numbers
but said, "you can only read this article if you add "13" to each
character," they'd still be in the same trouble that they'd
have been in if they published the text in the clear.

--Lauren--