Without taking a stance on this statement, I think it's important to realize how alarming it is that simply trying not to betray the trust of your users has become such a difficult, dangerous, and unusual task as to be called heroism.
The intelligence community has put us in such a bad spot that anyone who actually tries not to do something unethical, which should really be the default, is now exceptional and lauded.
Lavabit stood up, and that's admirable. That it's this admirable is a really bad sign.
Well the founder pretty much had to throw away his livelihood as well as part his dream to do something that could land him in jail, for someone he had never met.
He could have easily quietly given them the key (if he had it?), and then live the rest of his life with success and guilt.
Very, very few people would throw themselves in front of a bus the size of the US government to save an honest stranger. Those people are worthy of calling heroes.
Very, very few people would through themselves in front of a bus the size of the US government to save an honest stranger.
That's exactly my point. This is not a situation he should have been in. In our current political environment, absolutely, his actions were heroic. But all he did was what he should have done. That the potential consequences for that are so horrifying is what makes this entire situation incredibly wrong.
The intelligence community has put us in such a bad spot that anyone who actually tries not to do something unethical, which should really be the default, is now exceptional and lauded.
Lavabit stood up, and that's admirable. That it's this admirable is a really bad sign.