Levison d e l i b e r a t e l y chose a model that amounted to key escrow because the alternatives all involved users installing software, and thus killing user adoption. He deliberately escrowed keys to his users, providing the illusion of security in exchange for market penetration.

Nerds are great at baring their fangs when someone overtly suggests escrow keys. But they're terrible at spotting designs where key escrow is an emergent property rather than a goal.