2013-05-09 21:59:50 UTCState Department Compels Gunsmith to Remove 3D-Printed Gun FilesBy Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2013-05-09 21:59:50 UTC

Cody Wilson, the mind behind the "Liberator," the world's first 3D-printed handgun, said he didn't know what would happen once he uploaded the blueprints for the gun online.

Now he does.

The Department of State, through its Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance, forced Wilson to take down the online blueprints for the "Liberator" and all the other 3D-printed weapon parts that he has made available online. In a letter to Wilson, the State Department argues that by uploading the files, Wilson and his company, Defense Distributed, may have run afoul of export control laws, as first reported by Forbes.

In the letter, the State Department asked Wilson to take the blueprints down while it establishes whether the files comply with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR. The letter states that technical data regulated under ITAR includes "blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions or documentation," and that "disclosing (including oral or visual disclosure) or transferring technical data to a foreign person, whether in the United States or abroad, is considered an export."

Wilson promptly complied with the order, taking down the files and posting a disclaimer on DefCad, Defense Distributed's online weapons blueprint repository.

"DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information," the disclaimer reads.

He also announced the decision on Twitter.

#DEFCAD is going dark at the request of the SOS Department of Defense Trade Controls. Some shapes are more dangerous than others.

— Cody R. Wilson (@Radomysisky) May 9, 2013

For Wilson, this is just the beginning of the battle. And while he obviously didn't like it, he admitted he didn't have a choice but to comply.

"It's the first shot. It's like, 'look, stop,'" Wilson told Mashable in a phone interview. "And you know what? You gotta do that when they say that, it's the Department of State for crying out loud."

While Wilson took down the files from DefCad, that doesn't mean people can't download the "Liberator" or Defense Distributed's previous releases anymore. The Liberator's blueprint file was download over 100,000 times since Monday, and it remains out there, elsewhere on the Internet.

“I didn't expect them to assert authority on the front end. I didn't expect them to say, 'Take it down and then we'll see if you can do it,'” Wilson said. "But it's OK [...] It's all over the Pirate Bay, it's in the Internet, there are mirrors of it. We've taken all the files down from public access, but the Internet has it safely."

SEE ALSO: Is Downloading and Manufacturing a 3D-Printed Gun Illegal?

Apart from taking down the files, the letter will force Wilson to request permission to re-release any of the files that were uploaded, as well as any future blueprints or designs. And in case the Department of State says the files are subject to export laws, he might have to get a license, which could take months. "For all intents and purposes, realistically speaking, DefCad won't be serving files for a long time," he said.

Wilson likens this situation to what happened with PGP, a cryptography software created by Philip Zimmermann. In the '90s, Zimmermann was investigated for having published his software online. At the time, cryptography was an export-controlled technology, just like weapons. In the end, and after much public outcry, though, the case was dropped.

Wilson argues that just like with PGP, this is not just about cryptography or guns, this is about much more.

"The future of distributed technologies in the Internet is that no one has control of the information," he told Mashable. "This is more than guns now, man, this is about the Internet, this is about information." Information that he thinks should be free and information over which he thinks the government shouldn't have any control.

Meanwhile, legislators continue responding to the situation with renewed calls for legislation. Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), who has proposed legislation to renew the Undetectable Firearms Act, which bans the manufacturing of plastic guns, released a statement Thursday: "We still need to pass my legislation, the Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act, to give local law enforcement officials the tools they need to prosecute people who would make plastic firearms using the files that have already been downloaded 100,000 [times]."

Also on Thursday, California state Senator Leland Yee announced legislation to stop the spread of 3D-printed guns.

As Wilson put it, this is just the beginning. "Looks like we're gonna have a battle early about the future of the Internet," he said.

State Dept Defense Distributed Letter (Redacted) by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Image courtesy of Defense Distributed

国务院要求军械制造工厂销毁3D打印武器零件

科迪·威尔逊，后面的“解放者”，是世界上首款3D打印手枪的心思，说，他不知道会发生什么，一旦他上传的蓝图枪在线。

现在他做。

美国国务院，国防部通过其贸易办公室控制遵从，迫使威尔逊撤下网上的蓝图“解放者”和所有其他3D打印武器零件，他已在网上提供。在给威尔逊，美国国务院认为，通过上传文件，威尔逊和他的公司，防御分布式，可能已经触犯了出口管制法律运行，为首次报道福布斯。

在信中，国务院要求威尔森拿图纸下来，而它建立的文件是否符合国际武器贸易条例，或ITAR。信中指出，ITAR所规定的技术数据，包括“蓝图，图纸，照片，计划，指示或文件”，并表示“披露（包括口服或视觉披露），或在美国或传输技术数据，外籍人士，无论是在国外，被认为是一个出口。“

威尔逊及时与秩序遵守，取下来的文件，并张贴在DefCad免责声明，防御分布式的网络武器蓝图库。

“DEFCAD文件正在从以国防贸易的美国商务部的管制。直至另行通知为止，美国政府宣称的信息控制的要求公共访问删除，”免责声明读取。

他还宣布在Twitter上的决定。

#DEFCAD会在黑暗的国防贸易管制SOS部的要求。有些形状是比其他人更危险。

- 科迪R.威尔逊（@Radomysisky）2013年5月9日

对于威尔逊，这是战斗才刚刚开始。虽然他显然不喜欢这样，他承认他没有选择，只能遵从。

“这是第一张照片。这就像，”看，停，'“威尔逊说混搭在接受电话采访。 “你知道吗？你必须做的，当他们说，这是国务院哭出声来。”

尽管威尔逊拿了下来DefCad文件，这并不意味着人们不能下载的“解放者”或防御分布式的以前的版本了。解放者的蓝图文件被下载超过10万次自周一以来，它仍然在那里，其他地方在互联网上。“我没想到他们主张权力的前端。我没想到他们说，'把它记下来，然后我们会看到，如果你能做到这一点，'“威尔逊说。 “但它的确定[...]这一切都结束了海盗湾，它是在互联网上，有它的。我们已经采取了所有的文件从公共访问了下来，但互联网有它安全。镜子”

参见：正在下载和制造一个3D打印枪非法？

除了取下来的文件，信件将迫使威尔逊请求权限重新发布的任何上载的文件，以及任何未来的蓝图和设计。而如果国务院认为文件是受出口法规，他可能要拿到牌照，这可能需要几个月的时间。 “对于所有意图和目的，实事求是地讲，DefCad不会提供文件服务很长一段时间，”他说。

威尔逊比喻这种情况发生了什么PGP，由菲利普·齐默尔曼创建一个加密软件。在上世纪90年代，齐默尔曼被追究已经在网上公布了他的软件。当时，加密是一个出口控制的技术，就像武器。最终，经过多舆论哗然，不过，此案被删除。

威尔森认为，就像使用PGP，这不只是加密或枪支，这是关于更多。

“分布式技术在互联网的未来是没有人的信息控制，”他告诉捣成糊状。 “这比枪炮，现在，男人，这是关于互联网，这是有关的信息。”他认为应该是自由的，在他认为，政府不应该有任何的控制信息。同时，立法者继续应诉情况与再次呼吁立法。众议员史蒂夫以色列（D-NY），谁提出立法更新检测不到枪支法案，该法案禁止胶枪的制造，发布了周四发表声明：“我们仍然需要通过我的法律，不可检测的火器现代化法案，以给当地的执法人员，他们需要起诉的人谁也使用已经下载100000 [时间]文件使塑料枪支的工具。“

同样在周四，加州参议员余胤良宣布立法来阻止3D打印枪支的扩散。

正如威尔逊所说的那样，这仅仅是个开始。 “看来我们得早期对互联网的未来战斗，”他说。

国家防务部门分布式信（节录）由洛伦佐·切斯基，Bicchierai

图片来源：国防部分布式