On one hand it is a terrible proposal that deserves exposure to generate pushback.
On the other hand it is still just a proposal, of which there are many (stupid ones) which never see the light of day. This still needs to pass the European Parliament (which is generally opposed to this, not in the least because it is very unpopular under EU citizens). Even then the chances of it surviving a challenge in the courts (of which there will be many) are tiny.
False. If the Commission accepts it, there is still time and room to fight it. Furthermore, your logic would also apply if some random person on the street proposed this.
My point is that legislation can exist in a variety of stages. In the extreme case where we get stressed and angry at every proposal that any politician comes up with, we waste our energy instead of letting the specific systems introduced and thought up to mitigate issues with such proposals do the job efficiently.
Said otherwise: In some cases it effectively becomes crying wolf and makes people numb to and averse to hearing about it. As said, though: I am ambivalent towards news like this. In some cases we need to 'tell, tell, tell' to get the point through. It's a fine line, I think.
This is hardly a random person on the street or some single politician. It's a concerted effort by several countries that has been narrowly defeated several times because they keep pushing for it.
Besides, getting people up to speed with the idea that backdoored encryption is no encryption is pretty useful in itself, as similar proposals will keep popping up in member countries.
Only needs to succeed once. It only takes some incapable judges, who don't have any idea how encryption works, and of those I am certain there are many. Once such a thing gets through, it would take time to be reversed, if at all possible.
Whoever puts forth such ideas should be the first to show all their private communication. It shouldn't just be for the common citizens. How quickly the idea would be dropped ...
I've often countered the "if you've got nothing to hide" by taking out a bit of paper, and asking for their social and email passwords. "nothing to hide."
On one hand it is a terrible proposal that deserves exposure to generate pushback.
On the other hand it is still just a proposal, of which there are many (stupid ones) which never see the light of day. This still needs to pass the European Parliament (which is generally opposed to this, not in the least because it is very unpopular under EU citizens). Even then the chances of it surviving a challenge in the courts (of which there will be many) are tiny.