&gt; Then I want courts to be able to flip a switch<p>But you also don&#x27;t want anyone else to flip the switch, or it being flipped for any other purpose. That might just be impossible. So you might be better of without the switch.<p>&gt; You&#x27;re not just going to stay anonymous behind a skype number while you&#x27;re defrauding people halfway across the world.<p>Also, for this problem, as for many others, there are many possible solutions that don&#x27;t involve surveillance.<p>&gt; Also I don&#x27;t want some bitcoin asshole to pay off an old soviet general and get a nuclear bomb, just because they think it would be a fun troll to blow up a major city, trololo.<p>So, you would prefer them to use USD cash instead, then?<p>&gt; These aren&#x27;t theoretical concerns - ransomware, kidnapping, all these yucky things that civilized societies don&#x27;t have, all happen absent rule of law.<p>Except they very much do happen in &quot;civilized societies&quot;. And sometimes with the help of the powers of authorities.<p>&gt; It&#x27;s not an easy line to find.<p>No. But it&#x27;s quite easy to see that the direction we are heading is completely at the wrong end of the spectrum.<p>&gt; a good kernel isn&#x27;t reading my memory contents and slowing me down, but if I start performing illegal operations I might very well get shut down :)<p>Which is very much the opposite of mass surveillance.<p>&gt; Frankly I don&#x27;t see why humans even need to be involved,<p>Humans who see the potential of the collected data will get involved. People who want to abuse power don&#x27;t usually wait until someone gives them permission to.