During the discussion of Apple’s stand on being ordered to create software to allow the breaching of their own security, one point came up which I thought warrants further discussion, beyond the specifics of this case and the merits or lack thereof of Apple’s claims.

It was suggested that if a company’s security were known to be unbreachable (for whatever reason) such that data on a device would be completely secure, then terrorists, criminals, and child pornographers would all buy these devices and have a place to put/store their data that no government could access.

This is a salient point, but to me it brings up a larger point - Do we believe that if electronic evidence exists, it must only be allowed to exist in a form which the Government can access? If a manufacturer develops and sells an electronic device, must it be designed to allow persons other than the owner to access the data on it?

Leaving aside the argument that creating a backdoor for the Good Guys provides a backdoor for the Bad Guys, do we really believe the Good Guys must always have a back door?