[pmoriarty]

"It won’t be glossy Java-heavy "Web 2.0" of course, it will be Tor, Mastadon, and encrypted communications."

The problem is that unless these alternatives are made brain-dead easy to use securely, they won't be used by the majority, or they'll be misused.

It's the same problem as with PGP, which is too complicated and too much of a pain for most people to use -- even for relatively computer savvy people to bother with.

Without many people using them, they won't be very effective or appealing alternatives.

[mirimir]

If they're the only viable alternatives, people will adapt. And I'm sure that usability will also improve.

But yes, the potential for privacy-compromising security failures is indeed troubling.

[ben_w]

The adaptation can just as easily be sour grapes (“I can’t get it therefore it is undesirable”) as anything else. People don’t always yearn for freedom, just as they don’t always yearn for a strong leader to take control.

[chopin]

You're right but Let's Encrypt is a counterexample how previously tedious work can be automated.