Does the result justify the means? If so then hitler was right to gas the jews because it made germany ideologically whole. Nothing justifies losing your privacy. Same as nothing justifies genocide.

How quickly the backdoor will go from just getting used to stop terrorists to stopping journalists, scientists, and anyone who disagrees with the government.

Stopping world ending events and such will almost certainly never be exercised, but the average citizen will continue to have their rights violated on a daily basis.

I guess we're all terrorists now.

1. In terms of terms of service -this is not in the terms of service. Its a secret social contract. What do we know about the lockset on our doors? not much. What do we know about the company that made it's ability to make keys? not much. There is a trust that the creator will know things that we wont, and for everyone's betterment, they go to the grave with that knowledge.

Security is always temporary. Security puts an obstacle in the path of the treasure, it doesn't seal off the treasure. That's not how the real world can work. Bury it in concrete, seal it in steel. If the owner can get it, with enough time, the theif can too. Perfect security isn't real.

2. Should they be forced - how can you? There are a thousand vulnerabilities to every product, its just that we don't usually care so much. This is the idea behind many openSource ideas. We all know. In reality, businesses make and keep secrets.

3. It already is a social contract. It just seems important because now it's concerning something we care about.

4. This is the struggle of law and order. To create laws that are never self-contradicting. Laws that don't need exceptions. It's hard math. Each society decides what IT values, and then makes laws around those values. Every fireman has a protected right to not simply break in to my home, but destroy my home in order to save lives inside it. It happens every day. They don't come with keys, they come with battering rams and axes.
   two things are different though- We trust them, based on years and years and years of faithful service. They are honest. the second, is their actions always leave Clear evidence that they did something. I wouldn't come home and wonder if the fire department has been in the house. I would see the broken window and smashed in door and know. With the phones - we don't know if anyone was in, and this is very very different. There's nothing that prevents the phone from flashing a bright red warning that its been opened from the inside - except if the person disables the alarm :-) but its possible.

17 years ago Apple stated that they have a 'kill switch' for the apps, and this is similar. What do you do if a million phones go wild. If you could have set up a kill switch, would you regret not doing it.

What does it mean? It means that people who use these things HAVE to put trust in the person who made it. In the same way I have to trust in VW or FORD if I sit in one. There is no using the thing, without putting a tremendous amount of trust in the person who made it.