That conversation with a librarian at the public hearing that flipped my view on encryption backdoors

I used to think police should have a master key to encrypted messages, no question. Then I went to a city council meeting about proposed surveillance laws back in March 2022. A librarian from the downtown branch stood up and read off 14 specific cases from just our county where domestic violence victims used encrypted apps to safely communicate with advocates. She asked if we really wanted to hand abusers a way to know who their victims were talking to. That single question hit different than any debate I read online. It made me realize that carve-outs for good guys always get used by bad actors too. Has anyone else changed their stance after hearing a real life example like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

briancampbell1d ago

Yeah but that logic kinda falls apart when you look at how child exploitation rings use encryption too lol.

jackson.jenny1d agoMost Upvoted

Heard a friend's kid almost got catfished last month @briancampbell, encryption just hides the sick stuff.