Tobias Ernst replied to you :

JM>> AS A WORD OF NOTE:  IBM IS REQUIRED TO ENFORCE THE FRENCH LAW
JM>> WHICH REQUIRES YOU TO DOWNLOAD THE "INTERNATIONAL:FRANCE" VERSION.

TE> 
TE> What's behind that law? Why should a person from France be
TE> prohibited from downloading an international English or German
TE> or whatever version if he likes that language better?
TE> 
TE> Or does the French version have even less crypotgraphy then
TE> the 40 bits for the rest of the world?

No, the French law doesn't rule the rest of the world. Even if some
highbrows there believe the Earth is flat with Paris right in the
middle... :-))

No, the French law doesn't prohibit to download any cryptography
program from abroad. It used to prohibit to USE any crypting... Then,
in 1997, 40 bits keys were allowed. Now, the new rule is that 128
bits keys will be allowed. (Thanks to "Echelon"...).

But of course, we can't download (nor buy...) any U.S. product
including crypting with keys longer than 40 bits, not because of
French law, but because of U.S. law prohibiting such exports. Every
other country in the world (well, almost?) suffers the same U.S. law,
so Europe has its own companies specialized in crypting products.

     L.A.  
...
 * ATP/OS2 1.42 *  Bonjour de Nantes, Bretagne.


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