Ask HN: I’m an FCC Commissioner proposing regulation of IoT security updates

Re:Ask HN: I’m an FCC Commissioner proposing regulation of I... by dtaht on Tuesday September 05, 2023 @03:34PM (#37396634)

This is not really relevant to the proposed rulemaking but it is something that bugs me deeply, and would like to get off my chest. I would like to see a mandate that red LED be wired inband to every camera and microphone, on every device, so if it is powered up, the LED is also. This is what John Gilmore proposed in 2004, and we adopted in the OLPC project, as the first step towards not being ubiquitously surveilled. It is low cost, low power, and easy to implement.

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Re:Ask HN: I’m an FCC Commissioner proposing regulation of I... by MarcoPerazaFCC on Tuesday September 05, 2023 @03:42PM (#37396768)

I encourage you to file a comment suggesting this. It's actually not irrelevant. The FCC is free to decide that the label (which can include a QR code linking to more information) must include information about cameras and microphones and whether there is a software-tamper-proof way to tell whether they are on. Or the existence of a hardwired LED could even be a requirement to qualify for a label. Your experience with the OLPC project would really bolster the credibility of your comment as well, so don't forget to mention that.

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Re:Ask HN: I’m an FCC Commissioner proposing regulation of I... by exodust on Tuesday September 05, 2023 @10:37PM (#37400767)

The horse has bolted on the question "is that camera/mic on". If you see the camera, assume it's on. There's no going back.

Often the camera/mic is dumb, oblivious to the status of downstream recording. Passive mics aren't even powered.

I understand the concern about signalling recording status, but it's too late for people to adjust their expectations of recording status from the presence of a red light.

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