Banning encryption is like requiring that all your walls be made of glass and that the police can search your home at any time, for any reason, without warrant.
A personal electronic device, and the connections made with it, are extensions of the person and their respective home. A literal ban on encryption is probably the single largest step any government could take towards becoming a dystopic, tyrannic, borderline-criminal entity.
(I originally posted this comment under my reddit account, /u/lovecars.)
Note that the politicians and the law enforcement people (and the government by extension) will have walls built you can't see thru...
...gee, where do you think all the criminality will be occurring then?
In a way, they'd be figuratively shooting themselves in the foot. Right now, they can somewhat get away with their criminality, because they are more or less noise in the signal - since everyone has "walls" that can't be seen thru.
If they get their way with this kind of legislation, you know there will be an exception for them.
Once the people realize that the criminality continues, they will look around and say "well how's that possible? if only criminals use encryption...<lightbulb turns on>" - and then they become the targets of the people.
Of course, the people should have realized this NOW - not later...
A personal electronic device, and the connections made with it, are extensions of the person and their respective home. A literal ban on encryption is probably the single largest step any government could take towards becoming a dystopic, tyrannic, borderline-criminal entity.
(I originally posted this comment under my reddit account, /u/lovecars.)