Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET)

bzzz, you lose: slippery slope arguments are invariably histrionic.. and wrong.

The USA has been in far worse straits. We used to mow down protestors handing out leaflets. Once upon a time (e.g. before 1950) our free speech rights were regularly, and legally, suppressed, often with sanctioned violence and murder at all levels of government. Once upon a time government could suppress speech based only on a rational government interest--the very least restrictive judicial scrutiny. But it got better.

There's no reason to think that privacy protections cannot get better. But if history is any guide, if it does get better it'll be a long hard slog, and hyperbole isn't going to help. It will take a committed and sustained effort, and we need to tirelessly propose and test various philosophical arguments for why privacy matters. It wasn't until Justices Holmes and Brandeis proposed the "marketplace of ideas" concept did the country really see a role and function of free speech which could rightfully withstand government intrusions.

* FWIW, "marketplace of ideas" had a social darwinism aspect. It intimated that without being subject to vigorous public debate, the "good" ideas like capitalism and patriotism would become weak and wither away, and so the way to protect the good ideas was to prevent the government from coddling them. This is what united conservative and liberal thought behind the idea of strong free speech protections. We need a similar meme which persuasively explains why privacy should be respected.