Re:The window to deploy surveillance-resistant systems is ru...
by vanusa on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @02:14PM
(#30090301)
No one doubts that owning at least a burner "dumb" phone has become a practical necessity.
It's the idea of an actual smartphone not just maybe, hypothetically but "right now becoming" a legal requirement that seems to be -- more than a bit of stretch, here,
Re:The window to deploy surveillance-resistant systems is ru...
by brimble on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @02:13PM
(#30090282)
"Call this number from your car" was a common procedure, on arriving at a place, for much of COVID. Hard to do that without a cellphone (or a carphone, I guess, but who still has those? Cops, maybe?)
Re:The window to deploy surveillance-resistant systems is ru...
by throwawaygh on Wednesday January 26, 2022 @02:06PM
(#30090194)
BTW, if you want to make a call over the telephone network, neither the PinePhone nor the Librem 5 carry a modem you can control. In both cases, the modem is a black box with non-free firmware that you're probably not even allowed to modify, depending on jurisdiction.
Oh, and it doesn't even have to be an emergency. You might find out that your hospital only accepts appointments made by phone, and will turn you around from the door due to COVID restrictions when you try to schedule a visit. What will you choose?
Granted, it's not a legal requirement to take advantage of your legally mandated health insurance, but it's a catch-22 that was constructed out of a clash of laws.