Cory, this is a nice gesture and perhaps a fantastic public relations maneuver for corporate damage control on Google's part.
But, what good is encryption when they hand the keys to the government anyway?
I mean, I get it... if everyone uses encryption, it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb when you do... but then Google needs to make encryption of Gmail messages ubiquitous if they REALLY want to make an impact.
Otherwise, this just rings hollow as a publicity stunt for damage control. Is this really a step in the right direction or just trying to give people a false sense of security when they use Google?