Not all slopes are slippery. But Americans have had several hundred years to get to the grips with search warrants allowing the government to search stuff. Nobody seems to want to answer why an iPhone should be more privileged than — say — a diary.
Apple cannot decrypt the phone. Removing the brute force checks is not the same as decrypting it, because even in the nightmare scenario where the FBI get their hands on this modified software, and randomly start installing it without a warrant, it only works if they have the device and you've used a crappy pin code. If you use a strong pin, you're protected, still. Except for the whole contempt of court thing.
Apple cannot decrypt the phone. Removing the brute force checks is not the same as decrypting it, because even in the nightmare scenario where the FBI get their hands on this modified software, and randomly start installing it without a warrant, it only works if they have the device and you've used a crappy pin code. If you use a strong pin, you're protected, still. Except for the whole contempt of court thing.