Re: Encryption is now illegal? (Re: U.S. Secret Service shuts down NYC cellular disruption network)

[William Herrin via NANOG <nanog () lists nanog org>]

On Wed, Sep 24, 2025 at 1:07 PM Tom Beecher <beecher () beecher cc> wrote:
> "illegal" and "unlawful" mean the same thing : an act that is in violation of a statute. The statute that is violated 
> can be either criminal or civil.

Hi Tom,

If I drop a bag of poop on your front stoop, I have violated no
statutes. You can bring a civil action against me for nuisance and
you'll win, but no statutes have been broken. My action was unlawful
not illegal.

Illegal and unlawful are often used as synonyms and in many cases the
activity they're used to describe is both. Breaching a contract is not
one of those cases. If I breach a contract, the party I've wronged can
sue me for damages. No one else can, and that includes the government
itself.  I have not wronged the state or the people it represents by
breaching a contract with _you_. When something is _illegal_, it means
that I have.

Regards,
Bill Herrin


-- 
William Herrin
bill () herrin us
https://bill.herrin.us/
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