I for one don't care as long as my important communication is. And should the US government ever turn authoritarian and malevolent then we can all use VPNs and switch to better communication as happens in China. It's not like Americans are forever accepting unsecure communications, they just don't feel a need for more security. When the need arises Americans will adapt. Hopefully they don't have to.
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I'm not sure I could adapt at this point. Yes, I know how to use encryption to properly secure a conversation, but that assumes I can trust my device, my recipient's device, and that the underlying algorithms are really as unbreakable as advertised.
At this point I go through life under the assumption that the government (or bad actors within the government) could eavesdrop on every facet of my life if desired, and live with the anxiety that entails, which is low enough to be drowned out by other, more traditional anxieties. And I focus on political solutions rather than technological ones.
My point is that other countries get along. For Chinese citizens VPNs are a way of life.
This is false.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/breaking-down-vpn-usage-around-th...
>31% of Chinese internet users use a VPN.
>17% of North American internet users use a VPN.
> And should the US government ever turn authoritarian and malevolent then we can all use VPNs and switch to better communication as happens in China.
Should that happen, it is now relatively trivial for carriers to block VPNs—as is being done in China.
It's also trivial under such a setup to make unlicensed VPN use punishable by imprisonment.
Don't be so sure of technical or political solutions exclusively.
Secure by default is extremely important, regardless of your personal emotions about your own communications.
Everything goes out the window if you have a government willing to do anything and everything. It's a moot point. All this end-to-end encrypted technology would just be banned as you suggest.