export restrictions

[Tom "spot" Callaway]

On 03/10/2010 12:11 PM, Gregory Zysk wrote:
> 
> 
> On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 6:04 PM, Tom "spot" Callaway
> <tcallawa at redhat.com <mailto:tcallawa at redhat.com>> wrote:
> 
>     On 03/10/2010 11:27 AM, Bill Nottingham wrote:
>     > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/world/08export.html
>     >
>     > ...
>     > Seeking to exploit the Internet’s potential for prying open closed
>     > societies, the Obama administration will permit technology
>     companies to
>     > export online services like instant messaging, chat and photo
>     sharing to
>     > Iran, Cuba and Sudan, a senior administration official said Sunday.
>     > ...
>     > The administration’s blanket waiver does not apply to encryption
>     and other
>     > software that makes it harder for the authorities to track
>     people’s Internet
>     > activity. That category of technology does not fall within the
>     mass-market
>     > services that can be downloaded free from the Internet, he said.
>     >
>     > But the official said the Treasury would grant licenses to such
>     providers on
>     > a case-by-case basis, and would generally look favorably on them.
>     > ...
>     >
>     > Has the Fedora Board considered asking their legal representatives
>     > if such a waiver could be granted to the Project as a whole?
> 
>     Yes. Already asked, Fedora doesn't qualify.
> 
> 
> Is there a specific reason or reasons why we do not qualify? This would
> be nice to know since it could have an impact on certain elements in the
> future.

The new waiver requires that the software must be classified as EAR99 or
5D992 - Fedora is 5D002 - primarily because of the strength of
encryption it uses.  The license is also intended to be for free
programs a user downloads to use services like Facebook, Twitter, Flikr,
IM services, etc.  So even if Fedora was 5D992, Red Hat Legal does not
think that OFAC would view an OS as a social networking tool.

~spot