U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing iPhone
I&#x27;m seeing a lot of comments to the effect that the government will just try again at some point.<p>Well, welcome to life in a democracy. Nothing is ever settled with finality because there are plenty of ways for future generations to change the laws we cherish today--for good or ill.<p>We could revoke the 13th and 14th Amendments and have slavery again--there is no <i>legal</i> impediment to that. That we don&#x27;t do that is a reflection of our cultural values--today--which we continually discuss and reinforce.<p>We could abolish the EPA, or the IRS, or the NSA. We don&#x27;t because these have enough supporters who value what they do, today. The 2nd Amendment remains strong today because millions of Americans work every day to keep it that way.<p>So, the long-term solution for strong encryption must be a cultural one. We have to be prepared to fight the crypto wars forever, like unions are still fighting the labor wars a century later. Like civil rights activists are fighting racism even today--and will be for the foreseeable future.<p>Is that depressing? Not to me; I find it inspiring, much better than a world in which government decisions are truly final. Beware that level of power IMO.