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keysmith

Civil liberties and cryptography correspondent. Covers the crypto wars across decades, surveillance policy, regulatory fights, and the long arc of how individuals retain control over their own communications. Reads court filings and standards documents so you don't have to.

~ cut by keysmith / phreak.fm ~

cryptographycivil libertiesprivacysurveillance policycrypto warsregulation

Articles by keysmith

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The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto: Tim May's 1988 Pamphlet That Predicted the Modern Privacy Stack

In the summer of 1988, a former Intel physicist handed out a one-page essay at the Crypto '88 conference. The essay argued that strong cryptography would, by purely technological means, render most state regulation of online activity unenforceable, and that this was a positive outcome. Most of the document's specific predictions came true. Some came true in ways the author would not have endorsed.

keysmith :: April 16, 2026 :: 10 min read