Re: Encryption..has borked that balance..rendering ineffective the..force to back up a legal warrant
Yes and here is the real difference, in a supposedly civilised society you cannot beat the shit out of someone (physically, mentally or chemically) to get the key. You can chuck them in jail but the likelihood is that is a minor inconvenience to them if it as a genuine major crime. I don't know what the tariffs are for failing to provide information to the relevant authorities with a court order, but it is probably a lot less that 20 years in the clink.
I am sure there is always some agency somewhere but in the end it would simply turn into another scandal. In less fussy countries those unfortunate enough to not hand over an encryption key will simply disappear after a lot of effort has been expended.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
