It contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire. They couldn't stop it either. When you combine that with the strong political will that exists in the American people to have their privacy, it's going to require extreme measures to control this technology. Like every new technology, this comes at some cost. Cars pollute the air and cause traffic jams.
Cryptography can help criminals hide their activities.
People in the law enforcement and intelligence communities are going to look at this only in their own terms. But even with these costs, we still can't stop this from happening in a free market global economy. Most people I talk to outside of government feel that the net result of providing privacy will be positive. Law enforcement and intelligence interests in the government have attempted many times to suppress the availability of strong domestic encryption technology. Before that measure was defeated, I wrote and released Pretty Good Privacy.