Re:Amazon blocks long-running FireTV capability, Breaking ap...
by woodruffw on Sunday February 25, 2024 @09:19AM
(#39501017)
My butterknife doesn’t have the ability to upgrade itself to a chainsaw over the internet. Software has this somewhat unique and autonomous ability; comparing it to static household objects when it comes to manufacturers’ legal obligations (or ethical oughts) doesn’t necessarily make sense.
Developers aren’t responsible for the general population doing dumb shit, as long as they don’t trick them into it, and it doesn’t happen as a result of bugs in their software.
Imagine if the makers of stoves or kitchen knives believed that they should design out every possible way someone could burn or cut themselves…
“Do you want to let [application] access [the calendar|your photos|files created by other apps]?” seems totally reasonable; stopping users from running programs that do this altogether, not at all.
The biggest problem with it all is: that which OS developers do to “protect users” becomes what application developers use constrain users and prevent them accessing their data, in order to extract more money or control how people use their own devices.