[avn2109]

I fear the American government's totalitarian/police state leanings far more than I fear the PRoC.

Though the Chinese government is undoubtedly an enthusiastic squasher of political dissent, and their secret police are surely quite brutal, and I hate commies with a passion, I am hardly ever likely to have a conflict with the Chinese state.

An Unconstitutional American surveillance state is a far more immediate problem. The NSA can break down my door tomorrow after reading my politically unpalatable text messages, and there's nothing I can do to stop them. So if I had to pick someone to have the keys to my phone's backdoor, I'd pick a "hostile" foreign power any day. Though of course it would be better to have no backdoors at all :)

[jshevek]

I agree with you, but I would add that: if any power has the key to your phone's backdoor, there is a chance of the key getting into the NSA's hands.