The state is misleading you. The only way access to encrypted data would help the state is if no one knew the state had such access. The state can’t be trusted. The state, whether ours or China, or Russia, has proven repeatedly that it will ask for a tool only to use it in ways to entrench its power.
The FBI has asked Apple to build firmware so that the FBI can gain access to an iPhone. Apple said no. The head of the NSA has said that if NSA could break encrypted communications they could have prevented the terrorist acts in Paris from happening. The head of the NSA, as usual, lies.
History tells us that the State, especially in the case of the United States, depends on technology in intelligence gathering and fails miserably in human intelligence. Example: Osama Bin Laden used a satellite phone. A politician, in order to grab attention, let slip that the US state could track his cell phone. Osama stopped using the cell phone except to provide disinformation to our “intelligence” apparatus. Osama realized what any intelligent person realized. Technology could be defeated by trade craft. Bin Laden started using couriers to transmit information.
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Trade craft is old school and can only be defeated by trade craft. Trade craft requires an investment in human capital. Examples of trade craft are dead drops. A spy or terrorist drops a note in a hidden place for another spy to pick up. The courier dropping the note does not know what is on the note. The spy who picks up the note does not know who the courier is. The spy reads the instructions, destroys the note and no one, unless they are willing to torture the spy, can figure out what the mission is.
We all use this old school trade craft when we vote. We walk into a voting booth and punch a card or punch a button. We push this button anonymously and the number of buttons pushed or cards punched is counted. We elect someone. This system is not perfect because someone has to tabulate these numbers and when they do tabulate they can alter the data. The system is not perfect because we keep electing politicians who take control of more and more power.
Right now, any intelligent person who wishes another harm has come to a realization. The realization is that he or she can not depend on any technology based means to communicate. The state will find a way, under the guise of protecting us from terror, or global warming, or aliens, to access all technology available.
So, is the state really naive or simply using this apparent threat to exert more control of citizens? Based on your observation of the state, any state, what do you think?