A “golden key” is just another, more pleasant, word for a backdoor—something that allows people access to your data without going through you directly. This backdoor would, by design, allow Apple and Google to view your password-protected files if they received a subpoena or some other government directive.
I don’t allow my local police department to have a key to my house, “just in case”, nor would I ever. Neither should a corporation own a key to my personal data. This shit has to stop.
The Washington Post, which I’m usually a pretty big fan of, supported the FBI and CIA position that phones should either be unencrypted by default or have a built in key as described above. Completely insane.
Pat–
Yeah, the linked story points directly at the WaPo op-ed you mention. It’s incredible how people are willing to give away their civil liberties. It makes me realize just how ignorant we are of our rights, and how complacent we have become as citizens.