Hold on. With status quo electronic communications in the 80s and most of the 90s, the government retained instant access to communications for investigative purposes, and no serious objections were raised --- just as nobody objects to the idea that the police, searching your house with a warrant, get instant access to letters you&#x27;ve left on your desk.<p>Instantaneity can&#x27;t be the fulcrum of this debate, because it&#x27;s been the norm since the beginning of English common law.<p>There has to be some other principle at stake that can argue against decryption backdoors. And I think there are such principles! But I think it&#x27;s important that they be articulated carefully.