The US gave up on being a leader on encryption. China and Russia are eager to step in.

[Commentary] The United States has a long history of being a technology leader, developing ideas and technologies embraced by people and countries around the world. The United States also has a long history of being a moral leader — of doing what is right even when not in its narrow self-interest. When it comes to encryption, it has done neither. It has followed extreme views on the morality of encryption that other countries, unsurprisingly, have been reluctant to embrace. And now, those countries are leading with their own laws that jeopardize all the moral good that strong encryption can bring.

America needs to take a seat at that table, recognize that the moral absolutism of encryption exceptionalists conflicts both with our own needs and the fundamental values of most of our partners around the world, and find a way to lead again.

[Gus Hurwitz is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law]