> perhaps Apple and Google could invent a kind of secure golden key they would retain and use only when a court has approved a search warrant Even if the Washi

> perhaps Apple and Google could invent a kind of secure golden key they would retain and use only when a court has approved a search warrant Even if the Washington Post has no idea how cryptography works, this is incredibly naive politically. "A court", you say? From which country? Google and Apple do business worldwide. Can China's courts access my data? Iran's? If Apple employees have the key, they decide. And if they decide, any country with enough monetary leverage can get the key. "You can't do business in China unless you give us access." (Not to mention the head-in-the-sand implication that the US government would only get data using due process.) The only way this can work is if the tech firm cannot access the data.