The adoption of hyper‐strong encryption for mobile devices, such as the iPhone, has reignited debate about the need for exceptional access and the relative priority of privacy rights. Many software programs and algorithms are not neutral but “value‐laden,” and unbreakable encryption software virtually absolutizes the right to privacy, though it has justified limits in ethics and law. High tech companies have resisted any exceptional access solutions and generally opposed cooperation with law enforcement agencies for the sake of protecting the data of their customers. We argue that this strategy is ethically flawed based on the priority of the right to physical security over the right to privacy along with the need to ensure peace and order in the name of the common good. To support this line of reasoning we amplify the undifferentiated conception of the common good presented in the literature and sketch out the grounds for limiting rights based on the need to conform to the just requirements of the public order in a democratic society. The discussion culminates in a proposal for an exceptional access scheme that has the potential to minimize risk to innocent users.

中文翻译：

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“天黑”的伦理后果

在iPhone等移动设备上采用超强加密技术，引发了人们对是否需要例外访问和隐私权相对优先权的争论。许多软件程序和算法不是中立的，而是“价值担负的”，而坚不可摧的加密软件实际上剥夺了隐私权，尽管它在道德和法律上有合理的限制。高科技公司抵制任何特殊的访问解决方案，并普遍反对与执法机构合作以保护其客户数据。我们认为，基于人身安全权相对于隐私权的优先权以及以共同利益的名义确保和平与秩序的需要，这种策略在道德上存在缺陷。为了支持这种推理方式，我们放大了文献中提出的关于共同利益的未加区别的概念，并根据民主社会中符合公共秩序正义要求的需要，勾勒出限制权利的依据。讨论最终提出了一种例外访问方案的建议，该方案可以将无辜用户的风险降到最低。