Re: [Sks-devel] 0xd5920e937cc1e39b shows signatures with 0xca57ad7c continuing?

[Robert J. Hansen]

On 5/27/12 6:53 AM, Gabor Kiss wrote:
> My idea: there shoud be five wise and trusted peoples -- i.e.
> a committee.

Theoretically possible, although it'd be very difficult to find five
people the entire PGP community could/would trust.  As soon as you
introduce a committee of people with some kind of special power, you
open the door to conspiracy theories and every whackjob out there
screaming that the Keyserver Committee is the Second Coming of the
Trilateral Commission.

The completely decentralized nature of the keyserver network is a
strength, not a weakness: it means there's no central authority which
can be corrupted or subverted.  As soon as there's a committee, the door
is open for malicious actors to start applying leverage for their own ends.

So, yes, this proposal is technically possible but I can't imagine it's
politically possible.  Too much disagreement over who ought be on the
committee, and too much opportunity for malicious actors to exercise
leverage.

Plus, the instant there's a committee the committee members will likely
become legally responsible for the content of the network.  If someone
were to upload child porn to the keyserver network in the form of an
image masquerading as a photo ID, the committee members could arguably
be on the hook for criminal prosecution and/or civil liability.
Frankly, I don't want that.  I already have enough nightmares about
running just one keyserver and the possible liabilities that could
result without becoming responsible for *all* keyservers in *all*
countries and *all* jurisdictions.