"There is no question that we must address the issues of child safety, disinformation, national security, and criminal activity in the digital age. However, even if the stated end goal for mandating encryption backdoors is legitimate, the means must be necessary and proportionate. Deliberately introducing security weaknesses in encrypted systems fails this test. Weakening encryption will create more dangers than it will prevent. Further, there is no evidence base for claiming that breaking encryption will achieve the desired outcomes. At best, exceptional access to encrypted content will only serve as a short-term or partial solution for law enforcement. As we have explained in this brief, encryption is a vital tool for the protection of human rights, democracy, cybersecurity, and the economy. The right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression are basic human rights, and in today’s digital world, we cannot meaningfully separate these rights from the need for secure online communication channels that are free from undue surveillance. Encryption is a crucial building block for a secure technological infrastructure, and governments should promote its use, not repeatedly seek to undermine it." (Conclusion, page 16)