I agree there's a legitimate question about the legal basis for the FBI's request. But assume rational behavior on the part of the FBI here: if they had a more

I agree there's a legitimate question about the legal basis for the FBI's request. But assume rational behavior on the part of the FBI here: if they had a more solid legal basis for the request, why wouldn't they use it? The fact they didn't provide one implies the key issue in the debate is the extent to which private companies should legally have to provide help for investigations (bear in mind the FBI is fairly budget-constrained). I actually find it difficult to see a lot of malice in the FBI's actions. They've forced a "public" debate (really just within the tech industry, but I think that's the useful definition of "public" for this issue). I think it's disingenuous to complain about national security letters, then turn around and whip the FBI for bringing an issue more into the public consciousness. (I think they've taken advantage of the San Bernardino shootings to force the debate, but that's exactly how you force a debate.) Finally - I see the FBI's behavior as a sign of progress. This isn't the bad old days of Skipjack and NSA backdoors in Official Windows - times have changed, the tech has changed (and improved), but I see the government's behavior on the whole trending toward being more democratic, not less.