I also shudder at the thought of Bitlocker being the de facto standard for the average American's crypto needs. Microsoft is consistently the first to kneel before any and every demand of the NSA at the behest of their board members. Skype is a prime example. They were willfully deceptive about their ability to collect and record calls and metadata on the Skype network. Microsoft started working on integrating the NSA's PRISM into skype 8 months before they even purchased it. Well, that or they bought it with full knowledge of the PRISM integration and active deception and never planned to mention it to the public until the Snowden leaks forced their hand. Of course they say they only ever took action in accordance with their legal obligations and only after careful review, but their actions would appear to speak for themselves IMO. Bitlocker is no different from Skype. It's probably fine if you're trying to protect yourself from the prying eyes of an average citizen but it is also probably entirely useless against someone with enough influence and/or connection to the government's secret ops.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-c...