Lawyers for professor Dan Bernstein have asked for a constitutional review of the US Commerce Department's new encryption regulations, arguing that some aspects of the rules were struck down by a federal district judge in December.
"The government is forcing us to go back to Judge Patel again to have the new regulations declared facially unconstitutional," said Cindy Cohn, Bernstein's lead attorney. "This time we believe that a nationwide injunction against their enforcement is merited."
Cohn argues that the new regulations do not protect Bernstein's right, granted by San Francisco US district Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, to teach a class on encryption at the University of Illinois at Chicago and publish class materials on the Internet. Patel struck down the former regulations - then under jurisdiction of the State Department - on 6 December, declaring them a "paradigm of standardless discretion."
The Clinton administration in November announced that encryption matters would be moved from the State to the Commerce Department, and the new regulations detailing the transition went into effect Monday.
Officials at the Commerce Department could not be reached for comment.
