[alttag]

One of the more interesting lines of thought on Ars was that the request was so badly implemented (without a judge's signature; could have a been a National Security Letter instead; other similar reasons), that it was almost as if the person implementing it was doing it because he was pressured to by higher-ups, not because of true desire to see the request succeed.

Either way, I'm glad to see the negative attention the request received and even more glad to see the request withdrawn.

[gotodengo]

Or from a more paranoid standpoint, they got exactly the public response they wanted.

Dissenters, or at least supposed dissenting federal employees now know they're considered suspect. This attempt died, but in light of this do you, anonymous federal employee considering speaking out against the direction of your department, want to risk being next?

[metaphorm]

> This attempt died, but in light of this do you, anonymous federal employee considering speaking out against the direction of your department, want to risk being next?

yes, actually. this is encouraging exactly that. the government withdrawing its request in less than 24 hours because it didn't have a leg to stand on means that even in Trumpistan the constitution still means something. that said, encryption and anonymity seem more important now than ever.