What concern is commonly raised by privacy activists regarding lawful access?

• A. Some privacy activists believe that authorizing lawful access to encrypted data may increase the risk of unauthorized government access to that data
• B. It eliminates privacy concerns
• C. It guarantees privacy
• D. It has no impact on privacy

Answer: (A)

Introducing lawful access to encrypted data brings a fundamental privacy risk: the very mechanism that would let authorities decrypt information creates a potential weak point. Privacy activists warn that backdoors, key escrow, or any trusted-access system must be accessible to the government, but those same mechanisms can be misused, leaked, or hacked. Once such a path exists, it becomes a target for criminals, insiders, or other actors, and the data protected by strong encryption can be exposed beyond what warrants intended.

So the concern isn’t that privacy vanishes overnight, but that the security of encrypted data is weakened by the access method itself. This can lead to broader or unauthorized access, mission creep, and erosion of trust in privacy protections.