addressing FIXMEs

1 files changed, 22 insertions, 13 deletions

diff --git a/sa/sa.tex b/sa/sa.tex
index 7f89888..209e1ed 100644
--- a/sa/sa.tex
+++ b/sa/sa.tex
@@ -66,8 +66,7 @@ The USPs of Taler are:
 \item Merchants are identifiable in each payment they receive
 \item Payments are in existing currencies
 \item Payment fraud is eliminated, short of catastrophic failure in cryptographic primitives
-% FIXME(dold): Widely used systems sound awkward here
-\item Linear scalability ensures Taler handles transaction volumes of widely used systems
+\item Linear scalability ensures Taler can handle transaction volumes seen in global payment systems today
 \item Suitable for micro-payments due to very low transaction costs
 \item Ease of use (one-click, instant, no authentication during payment, again like cash)
 \item The patent-free, open standard protocol and the free reference implementation provide
@@ -286,11 +285,13 @@ policy positions in future.}
   % and owned.
   % "completely owned" might be wrong here, as the underlying code would not be
   % owned by SARB.
-  SARB is welcome to create any particular branding, especially for
-  consumer-facing products. However, the
-  Taler {\em protocol} will be a global commons (Free Software) and other
-  countries must be allowed to adopt the same technology stack.  That said,
-  SARB will be free to adopt the technology to its needs within the limits
+  We can create a SARB-branded user-interface for Taler and SARB would
+  be able to register and own trademarks for the respective branding.
+  The Taler {\em protocol} itself is a public specification
+  and our reference implementation is a global commons (Free Software),
+  which would allow other
+  countries to adopt the same technology stack (with other branding).  That said,
+  SARB is free to adopt the technology to its needs within the limits
   of the licensing agreement with Taler Systems SA and/or the GNU Affero
   General Public License.
 \item
@@ -368,10 +369,13 @@ data once online.}
   %
   % In fact even the question mentions "reconcile transaction data once online"
   %
-  % If the budget is available ;-), special offline hardware wallets *could* provide this
+% If the budget is available ;-), special offline hardware wallets *could* provide this
+% RE: tried to address it.
   For Taler transactions, either the payer or the merchant must be online and able to
   communicate with the exchange.  Otherwise the merchant cannot be sure that the payer
-  did not double-spend and risks being defrauded.
+  did not double-spend and risks being defrauded.  We believe that this is an inherent
+  problem for any system that runs on untrusted hardware, and only closed, ``unhackable''
+  hardware security modules could theoretically avoid this limitation.  
 \item
   {\bf The government must be able to make payments in CBDC.}
   This is possible with Taler.
@@ -629,17 +633,22 @@ risks from deferred double-spending detection.
 % FIXME(dold):  privacy itself is usually not desireable
 % for policy makers.  maybe we should argue from the view point of
 % data protection and data breaches.
-We are also surprised that privacy for citizens using the system is
-not listed as a principle objective and urge the SARB to consider
-adding privacy considerations to their requirements.
+We are also surprised that data protection, data minimization and in general
+respecting citizen's privacy is not listed as a primary objective and urge the
+SARB to consider adding privacy considerations to their requirements.
 
 Similarly, we hope that SARB understands the value of a Free Software solution
 in that it preserves SA's independence from particular vendors.  Furthermore,
 open standards and public source code enhance public verifiability and thus
-the public's trust in the solution.
+the public's trust in the solution.  We believe that only a Free Software
+solution can be in the best long-term interest of South Africa as it ensures
+technological independence and sustainability, as was recently demonstrated
+by the US government forcing Google to terminate all licenses to Huawei
+{\bf except} those for Free Software.
 
 % FIXME(dold):  can we somehow emphasize more the technological independence
 % and sustanability aspect?
+% RE: done.
 
 \section{Proposed approach and methodology}