"They" is a very broad pronoun. Ban encryption, and sure, detectives will genuinely be able to catch more pedophiles. That's almost certainly true, and I wouldn't dispute it.
But there are trade offs, and you also get more insidious elements. Certain officials in the government care about who you vote for, what websites you visit, what software you have installed, who you communicate with. This isn't new and has been par for course since time immemorial.
I'd liken it to freedom of speech. Most people, if they use freedom of speech to say something controversial, use it to say stupid and socially damaging stuff. Bush personally planned 9/11, Obama is a Kenyan Muslim plant, etc. But it's still worth fighting like crazy to make sure they have the right to say it, because as a society we do better if there is that ability to say whatever you want, even if people abuse it. It's that way we can fight against the government when we need to.
In the same way, encryption is a valuable tool that prevents government power from being exerted when it should not be. This can range from more effectively avoiding government attempts to undermine counter-establishment political organization to opening up markets that should not be being shut down by government violence.
I don't know if you'd even disagree with any of this. It's of central importance, though, to make sure that people know the debate isn't about whether we should allow child pornographers to avoid punishment.
But there are trade offs, and you also get more insidious elements. Certain officials in the government care about who you vote for, what websites you visit, what software you have installed, who you communicate with. This isn't new and has been par for course since time immemorial.
I'd liken it to freedom of speech. Most people, if they use freedom of speech to say something controversial, use it to say stupid and socially damaging stuff. Bush personally planned 9/11, Obama is a Kenyan Muslim plant, etc. But it's still worth fighting like crazy to make sure they have the right to say it, because as a society we do better if there is that ability to say whatever you want, even if people abuse it. It's that way we can fight against the government when we need to.
In the same way, encryption is a valuable tool that prevents government power from being exerted when it should not be. This can range from more effectively avoiding government attempts to undermine counter-establishment political organization to opening up markets that should not be being shut down by government violence.
I don't know if you'd even disagree with any of this. It's of central importance, though, to make sure that people know the debate isn't about whether we should allow child pornographers to avoid punishment.