Maybe so, but this transparency doesn't go both ways. Instead the government takes a paternalistic view and makes it as hard as possible to have themselves held

Maybe so, but this transparency doesn't go both ways. Instead the government takes a paternalistic view and makes it as hard as possible to have themselves held to account (directly contradictory to the spirit of democracy.) For example, in Australia it has become more and more illegal for journalists to report on human rights abuses and material from whistleblowers about the government's activities. Earlier this year they tried to legislate 15-20 year jail sentences for journalists who broke the government's vague parameters for responsible reporting, under the guise of national security and preventing journalists working as spies for foreign agencies. Treating the free press as enemies of the state by default is deeply troubling, I hope we can both agree. This is what I see in these debates about encryption and backdooring. I'd feel much more comfortable being held to account for my communications if I felt empowered to hold my government to account in the same way.