Bernstein, a Phd candidate at the University of California at Berkeley working in the area of cryptography. He had developed an encryption algorithm called Snuffle, a private key encryption system. Cryptographic equipment is classified and listed on the U.S. Munitions List that require a license for exporting. The paper and written instructions were not included on the munitions list. The court, in this case, found computer source code to be a form of speech.
Language is by definition speech, and the regulation of any language is the regulation of speech.
Nor does the particular language one chooses change the nature of language for First Amendment purposes. This court can find no meaningful difference between computer language, particularly high level languages as defined above, and German of French. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted injunctive relief from NSA export controls and found that these controls impermissibly limit free speech. Free speech advocates argue that the transmission of encryption source codes represent a form of scientific speech . The information that software developers want to transmit represents the results of their research in cryptography.