ABSTRACT

A few years ago, the phrase ‘crypto anarchy’ was coined to suggest the impending arrival of a ‘brave new world’ in which governments, as we know them, have crumbled, disappeared and been replaced by virtual communities of individuals doing as they wish without interference. Proponents argue that crypto anarchy is the inevitableand highly desirable-outcome of the release of public key cryptography into the world. With this technology, they say, it will be impossible for governments to control information, compile dossiers, conduct wire-taps, regulate economic arrangements and even collect taxes. Individuals will be liberated from coercion by their physical neighbours and by governments. This view has been argued recently by Tim May (1995).