Saying we're ignoring the alligator is quite an exaggeration though, and access to communications (with a court order) would be very useful to large-scale crimi

Saying we're ignoring the alligator is quite an exaggeration though, and access to communications (with a court order) would be very useful to large-scale criminal cases, including in working up the chain. It's a shame the relevant governments and agencies didn't think more about that before they acted as they have historically. To my mind, the issue of government access to encrypted communications has now become a moral dilemma that sits alongside the principle of not negotiating under threats or the fruit of the poisonous tree legal doctrine. Obviously and regrettably it will be harmful in some individual cases, but that may be the cost of not undermining the integrity of the whole system, and that in turn may be the greater good (or, if you prefer, the lesser of two evils).