>They still do not understand that it's not possible to force criminals to use government-approved encryption software.
I think in this instance this is a case of you assuming ignorance where malice is far more likely. Looking at the comprehensive mass surveillance of, well, everyone (by the NSA et al), I think the point here is to further the goal of population control i.e. they don't care about criminals who would write their own, they just want always-on access to everyone.
> I think in this instance this is a case of you assuming ignorance where malice is far more likely
I doubt it because (1) this would involve a wide-ranging conspiracy, and (2) they won't achieve their goal. If they were informed, they would know they will fail. As it is, Obama, Comey, etc will go down in history as asking technologists to perform magic. Nothing about this law helps them catch terrorists, and it hurts the US government's relationship with technologists going forward.
> they don't care about criminals who would write their own, they just want always-on access to everyone
That will not happen without a fight from companies like Apple. Ultimately, this just brings more awareness to users. It is not hard for companies to convince their users that backdoors for government make their data less secure. Tim Cook already took the first step.
More likely, I think, is technologists view government as lying about everything. We are iconoclasts seeking to break down cultural conservatisms. Also, we generalize too easily. We see government being disingenuous about one thing and assume they're dishonest about everything.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter if certain members of government are lying or not. We should be educating the public and our representatives about the fact that we can't force criminals to use government-mandated encryption.
I think in this instance this is a case of you assuming ignorance where malice is far more likely. Looking at the comprehensive mass surveillance of, well, everyone (by the NSA et al), I think the point here is to further the goal of population control i.e. they don't care about criminals who would write their own, they just want always-on access to everyone.