The Clipper Chip Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Clipper Chip Controversy - Essay Example The clipper managed to  perform  the above task with the  help  of certain numerical keys. Controversy sprung from the fact that the US government sought to  retain  exclusive  but regulated knowledge of such algorithms. That way, the government could eavesdrop on any conversation it considered  suspect. However, this would only be possible with a nod from the courts. As it happened, from ordinary citizens through  business  people to senior military personnel,  virtually  everyone had an opinion on the issue. On one hand,  there were civil libertarians glibly expressing their fear of the technology  being used  to  aid  a  big  brother regime that would  easily  stifle freedom of speech. On the other, cogent arguments in favor of keeping an eye and ear on the criminal  activity  were made. This paper endeavors to present arguments on both sides of the divide all through to the final part of the debacle. The privacy constituency rooted it s opposition to the clipper on the way it  was envisioned  to operate. ... stance if an ordinary citizen happened to stumble upon damaging information about the government, it was an  act  in futility for  him or her  to  attempt  to  pass  an encrypted  dossier  to someone in the media. The government’s operatives would work relentlessly to  intercept  it before some loudmouth spilled the beans if it (the government) knew about the leak. In such situations, no one was willing to tell the truth about anyone because the risk of  being caught  would be  unbearable. Similarly, it is quite thinkable that the government would use its backdoor privileges to access information otherwise supposed to be  confidential  about political competitors. In short, the charge from this end was that the chances of a  regime  turning  rogue  and harassing people for having unfavorable opinions, are exceptionally high with the clipper chip. The Clinton Administration countered this line of reasoning with a poignant statement that read; unfortunately, the same encryption technology that can help Americans protect  business  secrets and personal privacy can also be used by terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals (Lewis 26). Even during those pre-9/11 days, it was easy to see how a determined and sophisticated terrorist could benefit from access to encryption technology that no man, woman or  spirit  can penetrate. Plans to smuggle  would-be  murderers, take  flight  lessons, hijack airplanes and  crash  them into skyscrapers would be swapped across cyberspace without detection. Although the usefulness of the clipper in matters of defense is  somewhat  clear, its  inadequacy  is even clearer. Thoughtful opponents of the clipper observed no criminals or terrorists smart enough to use a  system  to use data encryption would be  dumb  enough to use