Re: Export Controls

Li Gong (gong@games.eng.sun.com)
Sun, 1 Feb 1998 19:34:00 -0800

Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 19:34:00 -0800
Message-Id: <199802020334.TAA16381@games.eng.sun.com>
From: Li Gong <gong@games.eng.sun.com>
To: Nigel A Rantor <wiggly@bogo.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Export Controls
In-Reply-To: Nigel A. Rantor's mail of Sun, 1 February, 1998

Nigel A. Rantor writes:
> Hi there,
>
> Put simply I think it is disgusting that a company such as Sun
> which trades worldwide and professes that "The Network Is The Computer"
> should release an API that can only be used in two countries because of
> export controls that are considered farcical by the majority of internet
> users.
>
> I understand that you are regulated by law but that does not preclude
> the introduction of an API that is worldwide exportable.

You may want to understand more about US export laws before getting
disgusted with Sun. As far as I know, in practice, the only sort of
"exportable APIs" are those that have built-in key escrow features.
Do you like key escrow? The EU seems somewhat opposed to US imposed
such features.

Li