> Why would the tail wag the dog? America benefits so much from all the R&D (in e.g. encryption) that can't happen on US soil.
As far as I know there are few (if any) restrictions on encryption R&D (and even publication) in the US.
What is restricted (due to encryption being classed as a 'munition') is the export of robust encryption products to specific countries.
Broadly speaking, circumventing the export controls wouldn't be in the interest of the US Intelligence Community, unless those products have backdoors or vulnerabilities known to the IC.
As far as I know there are few (if any) restrictions on encryption R&D (and even publication) in the US.
What is restricted (due to encryption being classed as a 'munition') is the export of robust encryption products to specific countries.
Broadly speaking, circumventing the export controls wouldn't be in the interest of the US Intelligence Community, unless those products have backdoors or vulnerabilities known to the IC.