Even though the first round of Apple versus the FBI ended before it could even kick off, the battle between tech companies and law enforcement over how strong encryption should legally be has only just begun.

In the course of the arguments about warrants and backdoors and privacy versus security, there's a common analogy that draws a parallel between the password on your phone and the lock on your front door. They are, after all, two elements of security that keep unwanted people out of your personal property. In reality, however, the two are extremely different. Even though cops can get through a locked door with a lockpick or a warrant or a battering ram, there are some very compelling reasons that the lock on your phone should remain completely unbreakable.

The key to understanding, as CGP Grey explains in this tight little summary video, is that on the internet there is no such thing as distance. That makes all the difference.

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When you consider that hackers and thieves on the internet can instantly attack thousands of computers and phones simultaneously from anywhere in the world, it puts a whole different spin on what the value of encryption really is, and how desperately important it is to keep that lock as strong as possible.

Source: CGP Grey

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