What’s the American saying about eating the cake and having it too? It was just recently that encryption was good and encouraged, according to FBI: Why the U.S. government is saying all citizens should use end-to-end encrypted messaging Sure, the point probably is “encryption + a back door”, but those are competing goals undermining each other. Same repeating conversation has/is been had here at EU side under the banner of “save the children”/CSAM more than national security, but basically the same.
At the higher levels, it’s about power and control (which have negatives that are being marketed with the few positives), and in the lower levels it’s practicalities (peace, order, civility, safety etc. - but whose and how, and who gets to set limits on those). It’s a balancing act of a complex global socio-technical system.
For similar conversations with good points already made on this, remember some of these threads:
- Et tu, EU? (War on end-to-end encryption)
- EU agreed to "ban" encryption
- Cheerful news from the "old" continent
- If the West demands hardware backdoors, where will Purism flee to?
- https://forums.puri.sm/t/keep-the-encryption-faith/14308
- Apple delays photo scanning
- US senate "Lawful Access Bill"
- At What Point Is Privacy Worth Giving Up