While visiting South By Southwest (SXSW) on Friday, President Barack Obama argued that the government should be given a backdoor to all encrypted smartphones and communications devices. Although Obama repeatedly played the child molester and terrorist cards, he never confronted the possibility of U.S. intelligence agencies abusing their power at a level far more technologically advanced than the KGB, Stasi, or SAVAK.
When asked where he stood on the privacy vs. security debate, Obama answered,
All of us value our privacy. And this is a society that is built on a Constitution, and a Bill of Rights, and a healthy skepticism about overreaching government power. Before smartphones were invented, and to this day, if there is probable cause to think that you have abducted a child or that you are engaging in a terrorist plot or you are guilty of some serious crime, law enforcement can appear at your doorstep and say, ‘We have a warrant to search your home.’ And they can go into your bedroom and into your bedroom drawers and rifle through your underwear to see if there’s any evidence of wrongdoing. And we agree on that.