Subj : Re: sending a message to someone
To   : Jay Harris
From : Wilfred van Velzen
Date : Mon Feb 01 2021 21:48:13

Hi Jay,

On 2021-02-01 15:34:24, you wrote to me:

 Wv>>  JH> Was the ENC flag intended for some other purpose?

 Wv>> The ENC flag isn't really a technical flag. It's more a statement the
 Wv>> node will forward encrypted mail.

 Wv>> In the distant past when this first became an issue, people were
 Wv>> afraid they would be held responsible for the content of the netmail
 Wv>> they forwarded.

 JH> Interesting.  So it was more of a liability thing.

Yes, sort of. But this was decades ago, when pgp was first introduced. So nobody really knew what laws applied, and the differences between countries. So some people choose the safe option.

 JH> I'm not sure about Europe, but the US has had a "Safe Harbour" law in
 JH> place for quite some time & thanks to the USMCA (the new "NAFTA") both
 JH> Canada & Mexico have those same protections (since July 2020).

I don't know the exact details but in general common carrier (telecom) companies can't be prosecuted for the data they transport. But I don't know it this applies to fidonet nodes.

Anyway I don't know of any legal problems in the history of fidonet for such things.

 JH> Do we know of anyone still actively bouncing/droping encrypted netmail
 JH> today?

I don't. Maybe ask in an area like for instance FN_SYSOP, where you have a bigger audiance for such matters.

Bye, Wilfred.

--- FMail-lnx64 2.1.0.18-B20170815
 * Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)

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