https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-bit_encryption was the most secure thing it was legal to export. The Netscape browser, in particular, had a lot of hoops you had to go through in order to get the 56 bit version meant for US audiences. Therefore, even most Americans with internet access at the time had the crippled international version.

I would also consider the NSA meddling with Bitlocker and RSA behind the curtain to be conceptually equivalent.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/03/can_the_nsa_b...

http://gizmodo.com/nsa-paid-security-firm-10-million-bribe-t...