The question I would raise is this: how willing is the general public to get itself informed about these things? While I wouldn’t go around advising rampant paranoia, the impression I have (backed up by the style of the media here) is that there is a certain level of complacency.

Worth noting that it is not just the Irish government which is moving towards greater secrecy and more indepth surveillance though.

On this: “Later, if governments were to abuse the trust associated with a system of key escrow, the public would call for a return to cryptographic freedom, and the pendulum would swing back.”

I’m not sure that even with a call from the public that a government might necessarily respond as wished…it would have to be a pretty loud call I think, based on recent experience.