This assumption comes up again and again: that criminals are somehow motivated and competent enough to use encryption even when the easiest way to do it are no

This assumption comes up again and again: that criminals are somehow motivated and competent enough to use encryption even when the easiest way to do it are no longer available. There’s no reason to believe that. Criminals are just as lazy and stupid as everyone else. If e2e requires an extra step, fewer will use it. If it comes with their phones’ built-in messenger, more will use it. Every unencrypted E-mail, SMS, ICQ chat among criminals of the past is evidence here: they could have all used PGP, or one-time pads. But they didn’t. For the same reason nobody in this thread has ever used a custom one-time pad implementation for any real communication: it’s fun to imagine when you’re in the shower planning your evil empire, but it sucks in reality. Note that I agree that this law is a particularly stupid idea, and that e2e encryption should be considered a universal right. It’s just this argument I don’t buy.