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> offering most users a free version with weak encryption just so they can pay for the premium version

As long as that wasn't a hidden fact from the users, I don't see the issue.

People are stupid. Seat belts that appeared to work but didn't actually keep you safe would be illegal even if labeled.

You die if your seatbelt doesn't work and companies charge for seat belts. You don't die if your encryption is weak and you aren't paying for it.

But otherwise, super useful analogy.

> You don't die if your encryption is weak

This really depends on the business you're in.

The laws were different back then. The State Dept changed the rules a decade or more ago, I forget when, and AES 256 has been the default cipher ever since. Encryption is listed as a munition. I would have gone to jail if I put anything greater than 40-bit encryption on the shareware sites. Look what happened with Phil Z with PGP.

The law was changed a year before your story takes place.

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