The reason that the government wanted the Clipper chip was to make it possible for police agencies to listen in on the encrypted communications of suspected cri

The reason that the government wanted the Clipper chip was to make it possible for police agencies to listen in on the encrypted communications of suspected criminals, often ones whose activities would certainly involve the possibility of people dying. Both cases are examples of government attempting to interfere with a technology to further some legitimate public government interest (catching criminals, reducing accidents) while compromising the private interests of citizens (effective self-defense, privacy).