>Why would we want to design such a system, given that implementing a golden key would be a disaster? ... I think having a good escrow plan ready is better than

>Why would we want to design such a system, given that implementing a golden key would be a disaster? ... I think having a good escrow plan ready is better than having none and being forced to design one on the spot. I disagree with this premise. I think it's dangerous to publicly and unashamedly discuss how to build a broken system like this, because it reduces the cost of performing that design in the future. For example, if you run an online service, you should spend your time building a system that makes it impossible to spy on your users, not writing an internal procedure that describes how you would spy on your users if someone forced you to. That said, I think the best argument against escrow for those who trust the FBI is that it will chill innovation and free speech, and push consumers and businesses to purchase from companies that don't do escrow (because they're outside the jurisdiction of whoever does it).