But the companies have their own points: If they build software that can be cracked or opened, they are building flawed products that hackers know they can exploit.
Moreover, these are multinational companies that might have to grant the same secrets-reading powers to totalitarian states where they also do business. Whether the companies are giving up people’s privacy to foreign or American police, many of their top engineers might leave instead of abetting.
Turning to the general public for guidance will not make this easier. Some people are for absolute personal privacy, no matter whether you are a piano teacher or an ISIS recruiter. Others think the government should be able to see your every move — after all, if you aren’t doing anything wrong, what have you got to hide?
The great middle, however, doesn’t like ISIS, or living in a world where a police officer reads our love letters (or notes on organizing an antigovernment protest).
What seems to bother the government as much as the problems of cheap, plentiful and effective electronic secrecy is the Nokia is making a comeback, releasing a new range of feature phones and tablets.